40-YEAR CAREER FOR THE DUKE OF YORK
STENA DISCOVERY’S NORTH SEA DAYS
Few ferries had longer or more varied careers than the twinscrew turbine steamer that ran between Harwich and the Hook of Holland as Duke of York for 15 years between May 1948 and July 1963. Built with two funnels in Belfast by Harland and Wolff to join three vessels dating from 1928 on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway service between Heysham and Belfast, she was coalfired, using mechanical stokers.
The most technologically advanced vessel to operate from Harwich was the 1997-built Stena Discovery, last of three 1,500-passenger/375-car gasturbine-powered HSS catamarans built by Rauma-based Finnyards. Her elder sisters ran on the Irish Sea; Stena Explorer from Holyhead to Dublin, and Stena Voyager from Stranraer to Belfast.
British-flagged Stena
Britannica shares services with Netherlands-registered sister Stena Hollandica and is a massive contrast to the Great Eastern
Duke of York carried 389 first and 1,111 third class passengers, with extensive cargo space and special accommodation for cattle. First class cabins were on the boat and promenade decks, while third class travellers were accommodated on the lower, main and poop decks, with cabin berths for 228 and a ladies dormitory with ten beds.
Stena Discovery spent a month on the Irish Sea before a Hook route debut on 2 June 1967. She had two pairs of General Electric Aviation gas turbines powering four KaMeWa Water Jets giving a speed of 40 knots. In addition to reduced crossing times thanks to her speed, the use of specially designed linkspans also allowed quick port turnarounds by the 126m long stern loader.
This poster was a familiar sight at railway stations throughout southern England in the 1930s.
There was a 1942 call-up for World War II service, which brought a change of name to Duke of Wellington to avoid confusion with the battleship HMS Duke of York. Conversion took place for operation as a hand-hoist Landing Ship (Infantry) carrying 250 troops and ten landing craft, along with a 12-pounder gun and eight 20mm anti-aircraft cannon. Duke of Wellington took Canadian troops to a raid on Dieppe in August 1942, before playing her part in the D-Day landings two years later, followed by a post-war spell transporting troops from Tilbury to Ostend.
Stena Discovery replaced ro-pax vessels Stena Britannica (1991/25,905gt), which remains in the fleet as Stena Saga, and Koningin Beatrix (1986/31,189gt) from the fleet of Dutch route partners the Zeeland Steamship Company (SMZ), which now sails as Stena Baltica.
The historic crossing from Harwich to the Hook of Holland is today served by the 2010-built sisters Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica, the biggest vessels in Stena Line’s near-40-ship fleet, offering day and night sailings in each direction from the Essex port to the Netherlands. The route fared better than many others during the Covid-19 pandemic from spring 2020, and remains the busiest continental connection from England’s East Coast ports. Indeed, in recent times £1 million has been spent on upgrading the two vessels to provide enhanced onboard passenger facilities.