Displaying items by tag: Ferryport

Q: Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

6th October 2020

Ferry First As Scandinavian Fleetmate Joins Stena Operations Out of Rosslare Europort

All together now as a trio of Stena ferries gather in Rosslare Europort with the first time arrival of Stena Vinga (on right) which is serving as Irish Sea relief duty vessel this winter. Afloat also adds however that the ferry firstly is operating on the Ireland-France (Cherbourg) connection though tonights 21:30 sailing from Rosslare has been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Afloat highlights the above busy scene as a trio of ferries and all from the same operator gathered recently in Rosslare Europort, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Most notably among the Stena Line ferries was the arrival of Stena Vinga (on right) which for the first time arrived to the Co. Wexford port. The ropax vessel is serving in the role of Irish Sea winter relief ferry while on 'loan' from Stena's fleet based in Scandinavia.

According to the operator's timetable, the temporary replacement ferry (firstly standing in on the Rosslare-Cherbourg service ) is to remain operating on the Ireland-France connection until the route's routine ropax Stena Horizon returns on 28 October. This is to involve an inbound sailing from Normandy.

Normally Stena Vinga operates the Gothenburg-Frederikhavn route that links the west Swedish city (homeport headquarters of Stena Line) and the east Danish port. This route is only 15 minutes longer than the Rosslare-Fishguard route served by the veteran vessel Stena Europe which too ran in Scandinavia firstly for Sessan Line.

On this day last week Stena Vinga began Rosslare-Cherbourg sailings albeit with much reduced passenger and freight capacity though this does note pose an issue given it is a much quieter time of the year coupled with Covid-19 restrictions.

Stena Vinga's transfer to the Ireland-France connection had led to the continental route's Stena Horizon deployed to the Dublin-Holyhead route. This allowed the ropax to take over the roster of Stena Estrid the leadship of the new 'E' -Flexer series.

The newbuild built in China had only entered service in January is currently covering Belfast-Cairnryan crossings. This is to enable Stena Superfast VII dry-dock for annual maintanence at Harland & Wolff.

Stena Vinga replaced a previous relief ferry Stena Nordica which recently carried out such duties including its former routine route of Dublin-Holyhead and beforehand Belfast-Liverpool, a first for this ropax despite until then serving all of Stena's Irish Sea network.

Published in Rosslare Europort

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RMR Shipping Increase Irish-West African Sailings

Dublin Port Company has welcomed RMR Shipping's new increased frequency of its service to West Africa, from a monthly to fortnightly service starting next month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The direct service which began in 2009 using a single vessel from the capital to Nigeria, Ghana with calls to Lagos and Takoradi, is set to gain a second ship as demand for the service rises.

Two 157-trailer capacity ro-ro sisters are to be deployed on the route, they are the 23,000 gross tonnes sisters Celandine and Celestine. The Belgium-flagged pair both built in 2000 will take 18-days to transit between Dublin and Ghana.

The next sailing to Dublin is due on 5 July when the Celandine (PHOTO) is to dock at berth 51a, which is one of three berths located in the ports multi-user ferryport Terminal 1, shared by Irish Ferries, Stena Line and seasonal services of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Commenting on the development, Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive Dublin Port Company said: "We are delighted with this development. Anything which increases the link between Ireland and emerging economies beyond Europe has got to be good for exports.

He added, "The service to Takoradi complements our involvement with Irish Aid from 2008 to 2010 in delivering an international training programme for ports in emerging countries including Ghana. The TrainForTrade programme was delivered with UNCTAD and we are hopeful of being able to announce a follow-up to the first programme in the coming months.

The development of RMR Shipping on the direct sea freight link was also welcomed by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) whose chief executive John Whelan commented that exports to Nigeria last year exceeded €200m, the second largest market for Irish goods into Africa.

Published in Dublin Port

Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities.

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

What is marine leisure tourism?

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

What marine leisure tourism studies have been conducted in Ireland?

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

What were the results of the NUI marine leisure tourism study?

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.