{{Short description|Cook Strait ferry}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=September 2017}} {{Infobox ship | display_title = ''Strait Feronia'' |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = 'Strait Feronia' Wellington 2302 (53226370734).jpg | image_caption = ''Strait Feronia'' in the [[Cook Strait]] }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | name = ''Strait Feronia'' | owner = [[StraitNZ]] | operator = StraitNZ | registry = *{{flagicon|New Zealand|civil}} *[[Wellington]] | route = Wellington to Picton | builder = [[Cantiere Navale Visentini]], Italy | original_cost = | yard_number = | way_number = | laid_down = | launched = 7 December 1996 | completed = 1997<ref name="dnv">{{cite web |publisher=Det Norske Veritas |location=Oslo |url=http://exchange.dnv.com/exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&vesselid=25668 |title=Stena Feronia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307105442/https://exchange.dnv.com/Exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&vesselid=25668 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> | christened = | acquired = | maiden_voyage = | in_service = | out_of_service = | identification = *{{IMO Number|9136022}} *{{MMSI Number|512263000}} *[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: ZMSF | fate = | status = In service | notes = }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = | tonnage = {{GT|21856}}<ref name="dnv" /> | displacement = | length = {{convert|186.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="dnv" /> | beam = {{convert|25.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="dnv" /> | height = | draught = {{convert|5.55|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="dnv" /> | draft = | depth = | decks = | deck_clearance = | ramps = | ice_class = | sail_plan = | power = 2 x [[Wärtsilä]] 8R46 diesel engines | propulsion = *2 × controllable pitch propellers *2 × [[bow thruster]]s | speed = {{convert|21.5|knots|km/h|0|lk=in}} | capacity = *370 passengers<ref name="stenaroro">{{cite web |publisher=Stena Line RoRo |url=http://www.stenaroro.com/offering/Pages/Stena-Feronia.aspx |title=Stena Feronia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225023254/http://www.stenaroro.com/offering/Pages/Stena-Feronia.aspx |archive-date=25 December 2012|url-status=dead |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> *2,150 lane meters | crew = | notes = }} }}
'''''Strait Feronia''''' is a passenger, freight and vehicle or [[Ropax]] ferry formerly owned and operated by [[StraitNZ]] between 2015 and 2025. The ship is a twin of the ''[[MS Pelagos]]''. The vessel was initially named '''''Mersey Viking''''' and saw service in the [[Irish Sea]], eventually being renamed '''''Dublin Viking''''' and then '''''Dublin Seaways'''''. The vessel was acquired by the [[Stena Line]] and renamed '''''Stena Feronia''''' and saw service between [[Tangier]] and [[Algericas]] and later between [[Kiel]] and [[Gothenburg]]. From 2015 until 2025 she operated on [[StraitNZ]]'s inter-island service in New Zealand, and was then sold to Egypt as '''''Pan Lily'''''.
==History== ''Strait Feronia'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 7 December 1996 as ''Mersey Viking'' for the [[Irish Sea]] ferry operator [[Norse Irish Ferries]]. The ship was built by [[Cantiere Navale Visentini]] in Italy. The ship entered service in July 1997 operating between [[Liverpool]] and [[Belfast]]. She remained on this route until December 2005 when she moved to the [[Birkenhead]]–[[Dublin]] route. Prior to transferring to the Dublin route the ship was renamed ''Dublin Viking''. On 7 August 2007 a [[Mooring (watercraft)|mooring rope]] at the ship's [[stern]] parted whilst preparing to depart Dublin. Two people were injured by the parting rope, a member of the ship's crew later dying of his injuries.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Marine Accident Investigation Branch |location=Southampton |url=https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/547c701ced915d4c0d000079/DublinVikingReport.pdf |title=Report on the investigation of the parting of a mooring line on board Dublin Viking |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604170204/http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Dublin%20Viking.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2012 |access-date=4 October 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2010 the vessel was renamed ''Dublin Seaways'' following [[DFDS]]'s acquisition of [[Norfolkline]].
In January 2011 DFDS Seaways closed the Birkenhead–Dublin route; ''Dublin Seaways'' was sold to [[Stena Line]] and renamed ''Stena Feronia''. On 7 March 2012 ''Stena Feronia'' collided with the cargo ship ''Union Moon'' just before entering the [[Fairway (navigation)|fairway]] of [[Belfast Lough]].<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/mar/08/stena-line-ferry-crash-belfast-lough |title=Stena Line ferry collides with cargo ship in Belfast Lough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615135144/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/mar/08/stena-line-ferry-crash-belfast-lough |archive-date=15 June 2018 |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> ''Stena Feronia'' was holed above the waterline but was able to berth safely in Belfast. In 2012, she was [[Chartering (shipping)|chartered]] to the Moroccan ferry operator Inter Shipping for service between [[Tangier]] and [[Algeciras]]. She sailed successfully for two years on that route before she was replaced in October 2014 by the [[LD Lines]] vessel, {{ship|MS|Norman Asturias||2}} which had been chartered to Inter Shipping. ''Stena Feronia'' then left that service and was anchored off the coast of [[Gibraltar]] for a short while before returning to Belfast. She was laid up in Belfast before substituting for {{MS|Stena Mersey||2}} while she was in dry dock at both Belfast and [[Falmouth, England|Falmouth]]. After a brief lay-up in Belfast and in Sweden, from 26 January 2015 she operated between [[Kiel]] and [[Gothenburg]] for eight weeks as a temporary replacement while ''Stena Germanica'' underwent a refit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kn-online.de/Lokales/Kiel/Ersatzfaehre-Stena-Feronia-faehrt-kuenftig-auf-der-Strecke-Kiel-Goeteborg |title=Stena Feronia von Kiel nach Göteborg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231025933/http://www.kn-online.de/Lokales/Kiel/Ersatzfaehre-Stena-Feronia-faehrt-kuenftig-auf-der-Strecke-Kiel-Goeteborg |archive-date=31 December 2014 |access-date=27 February 2015 |language=de}}</ref>
In early 2015 [[StraitNZ]], of [[Wellington Harbour|Wellington]] New Zealand purchased ''Stena Feronia'' and renamed her ''Strait Feronia'' for its Bluebridge Wellington to [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]] service across the [[Cook Strait]].<ref name="Stuff NZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/69008426/new-bluebridge-ferry-arrives-in-wellington |title=New Bluebridge ferry arrives in Wellington|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924140736/http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/69008426/new-bluebridge-ferry-arrives-in-wellington |archive-date=24 September 2015 |date=1 June 2015|access-date=1 June 2015|url-status=live |publisher=Stuff |location=Wellington}}</ref><ref name=StraitNZ>{{cite web |title=Our company: fleet |url=https://www.bluebridge.co.nz/our-company/ |publisher=StraitNZ |access-date=4 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004163747/https://www.bluebridge.co.nz/our-company/ |archive-date=4 October 2025 |location=Wellington NZ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Crossing the Cook Strait ''[[Ships Monthly]]'' July 2022 page 66</ref> She was delivered in June 2015 after a 45-day sailing from Sweden.
In September 2025, ''Strait Feronia'' was replaced by ''[[MV Livia|Livia]]''.<ref name=StraitNZ/><ref>Stena sale causes reshuffle ''Ships Monthly'' May 2025 page 11</ref> It was sold to Egyptian company Pan Marine Shipping and renamed ''Pan Lily'' for intended service in the [[Red Sea]] under the Panamanian flag.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Crisp |first1=Dale |title=Red Sea future for Cook Strait ro-pax |url=https://www.thedcn.com.au/news/red-sea-future-for-cook-strait-ro-pax |access-date=4 October 2025 |work=[[Daily Cargo News]]|date=29 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004174524/https://www.thedcn.com.au/news/red-sea-future-for-cook-strait-ro-pax |archive-date=4 October 2025 |location=Sydney NSW |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Sister ships== ''Strait Feronia'' was the first of two identical ships built by Cantiere Navale Visentini for [[Norse Irish Ferries]]. The second ship was launched as ''Lagan Viking'' and has been operating between [[Marseille]] and [[Tanger Med]] for [[La Méridionale]] as {{MS|Pelagos||2}} since 2019 up to 2025. She was then sold to UME Shipping for service in Egypt and Saudi Arabia under the name Pelagos Express
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Mersey Viking august 2003.jpg|''Mersey Viking'' arriving in Belfast File:Dublin viking birkenhead april 2007.jpg|''Dublin Viking'' berthed at Twelve Quays, Birkenhead File:Stena Feronia.jpg|''Stena Feronia'' at Twelve Quays, Birkenhead </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline|Strait Feronia (ship, 1997)}}
{{New Zealand inter-island ferries|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Cook Strait ferries]] [[Category:Picton, New Zealand]] [[Category:Ships built by Cantiere Navale Visentini]] [[Category:1996 ships]]