Stena-Spirit

On March 25, 2026, at 9.30 a.m. the 'Stena Spirit' ran into trouble at Karlskrona port after a mooring rope at the stern broke in gusty winds. This led to the vessel going adrift. There were 489 passengers on board. The Swedish anavy tug HMS 'Hector', which was berthed in thr Karlskrona naval port, noticed that the ferry was in a bad situation and made direct contact with the ship over the radio, which then requested assistance. The HMS 'Hector' immediately set off, while contacts were made with the JRCC regarding the situation. The tugquickly arrived on site and was able to connect to the ferry along with a commercial tug. No one was injured, and the vessel was safely moored at the quay. An inspection of the vessel and port infrastructure was carried out, as well as an inspection by the classification society. The company was awaiting final approval to move the vessel to free space at the quay, Because the 'Stena Spirit' was occupying the berth, there have been delays to other vessels on the Gdynia-Karlskrona route, operated by Stena Line Polska. The 'Stena Spirit's evening sailing was cancelled, and passengers were offered reservations for the next sailing on a different ferry. They were also provided with overnight hotel accommodations. The arrival of the 'Stena Estelle' in Karlskrona was delayed. Passengers who booked a crossing on this vessel and were waiting at the terminal in Karlskrona were provided accommodation and meals on the 'Stena Spirit' due to the prolonged wait. The departure of the 'Stena Ebb'a from Gdynia was also delayed. Passengers boarded at the normal check-in time and were staying on board, using the cabins and onboard amenities. Diving inspections of the hull of the 'Stena Spirit' were carried out in the Verkö port and were continued on March 26. All sailings of the ship between Karlskrona and Gdynia were cancelled for the time being. On March 28 the 'Stena Spirit' was permitted to proceed to Gdansk for repairs and left the port. On March 29 at 5.20 a.m. UTC it berthed at the Remontowa Shipyard in Gdansk-Ostrów to get the hull damage fixed. Reports with photos and video: https://www.portalmorski.pl/zegluga/60360-uszkodzenie-cumy-rufowej-promu-stena-spirit-opoznienia-promow-na-linii-gdynia-karlskrona https://www.trojmiasto.pl/tv/Stena-Spirit-26-03-2026-video-106878.html https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/0ppoWM/stena-farja-fast-utanfor-karlskrona

On March 27, the 'Stena Spirit' was still blocking the port of Verkö in Karlskrona, two days after it ran aground. The Stena Line has not received the permit from the Swedish Transport Agency to move the ferry to a shipyard. The shipping company said that it has not been informed why. According to the Swedish Transport Agency, they were waiting for a stability calculation, but who would do it was unclear. The ship had been stuck outside Karlskrona for over 16 hours. During this time, crew members were going around with water and have opened the restaurant so the passengers got free food. Information came over the PA every two hours, while the ship was waiting for the permission to enter port about half an hour from Karlskrona. On March 26, there have been major delays in ferry traffic between Karlskrona and Gdynia. One of Stena Line's ferries, the 'Stena Estelle', has diverted to Trelleborg instead. Hundreds of passengers on the 'Stena Ebba' were stuck at sea because no ferries could dock in Karlskrona. Report with photo: https://omni.se/passagerare-fast-pa-farja-medicinerna-borjar-ta-slut/a/zOOx51

An investigation into the death of a Polish woman and her child on June 29, who fell overboard from the 'Stena Spirit' showed that the child has been killed. From the surveillance video, it appears that the mother had the child in her arms when both fell overboard, said the public prosecutor Marie Lindström, who led the investigation, according to a press release from the Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office. The conclusion is based on surveillance videos from the ferry and an interview with the ship's captain. There were no witnesses to the incident. It was initially characterized as an accident. A seven-year-old boy had allegedly fallen overboard when the ferry was on its way from Gdynia to Karlskrona. His mother ran after him - and both were found dead after an hour's search. But now the Swedish public prosecutor's office stated that a surveillance camera told a different story.

A mother and her seven-year-old child died after falling overboard the 'Stena Spirit' on June 29, 2023, enroute from Karlskrona to Gdynia. The two were located and winched to a helicopter and are taken to a hospital, where they were devladed dead. The ferry was midway through its journey when the incident occurred. A large rescue effort was initiated, with several helicopters and NATO ships in the area. An extended suicide was thought to be behind the indident.

The 'Stena Spirit' upon entering port coming from Gdynia, suffered engine trouble in Karlskrona on Sep 16, 2019, at 10 a.m., missed its dock and was in collision with the Norwegian offshore vessel 'NKT Victoria' near the quay in windy conditions. The ferry was on its way into the Verkö port at Karlskrona when she was suddenly hit by a blackout. In the strong wind, she drifted rapidly towards the lighthouse on Verkö. Before the ferry got the engines started, it let the anchor go in an attempt to stop the drift towards the lighthouse, but hit the bottom. When the ferry got back on its engine, it backed towards the quay, thereby hitting the moored cable ship. Stena sent its own divers down to check the hull for any damage. The situation after the blackout was aggravated by the harsh winds that contributed to accelerate the process. No spills have been detected neither from the "Stena Spirit" nor from the "NKT Victoria". No one was injured in the accident either. Emergency services were notified, but no ambulance has been called. The Coast Guard vessel 'KBV 003' was deployed for investitations. Both ships berthed in the Verkö Port around 10.15 a.m. The ferry had 740 passengers and 103 crew members on board. She left the port again at 9.30 p.m. and arrived back in Gdynia on Sep 17 at 7.15 a.m. Swedish report with photos: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/blekinge/passagerarfartyg-i-kollision-med-fartyg-stort-raddningspadrag