#FerryExchange - Former Dublin Port-Holyhead ferry, Stena Nordica directly replaced by last month's much larger Stena Superfast X, is in France prior to entering a new career, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 405 passenger ro-pax Stena Nordica as previously reported on Afloat.ie spent a stint serving out of Belfast after the introduction on the Dublin route by the 1,200 passenger Stena Superfast X. The newcomer entered service on the night of March 9th alongside Stena Adventurer. 

This saw the withdrawn 'Nordica' cover Belfast-Cairnryan route serving sisters Stena Superfast VII and VIII. The pair formed part of a Stena six-ship refit totalling £6m at Harland & Wolff.

Following North Channel duties, Nordica set off for the Damen Arno Dunkerque, where the 24,206 tonnes vessel is having work required for her Stena charter to DFDS Seaways. It is understood she has been renamed Malo Seaways. 

Currently moored alongside the facilities Quai de Douvres, the name is a giveaway as to her pending role as previously reported on Afloat.ie, she is to be deployed on the Danish company's Dover-Calais service.

When Malo Seaways enters the premier short-sea UK-France route, her debut will be somewhat full-circle given that Stena Superfast X, the former Dieppe Seaways was also chartered from Stena to serve this same Strait of Dover route.

The Arno yard in Dunkerque Est neighbours that of Dunkerque Ost, where the ferry company also operate a service to Dover.

The French North Sea port is also where Dieppe Seaways stood down and went to layup before she headed to a Polish yard for Stena Line in preparation of her Irish Sea debut.

When Malo Seaways enters service she will provide much needed additional capacity to provide DFDS Seaways with a two-ship service, where Calais Seaways is presently running.

#FerryNews - Today (Saturday 18 April) sees the launch of a new passenger ferry service across Galway Bay between the city and the Burren.

As the Clare Champion reports, the new ferry routes – which will see boats sail between Galway and the villages of Ballyvaughan and Kinvara on alternate days – are operated by MacMara, a new coastal ecotourism business.

MacMara founder Michael McArdle was part of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop project, which ran a fast ferry service between the Burren and Galway City to coincide with the Volvo Ocean Race finale.

That feasibility study fed into the new service, which fellow Bay Hop operator Gwen Ryan has been refocused from commuting to "leisure travellers and bringing people from Galway City to the Burren and South Galway."

It's also expected that the MacMara service will open more of the Galway Bay coast to the tourism opportunities afforded by the Wild Atlantic Way initiative.

The Clare Champion has much more on the story HERE.

#BackToFront- Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company's public consultation process over a €18m Cruise-Berth ended yesterday and came in advance of Stena Line's contract with the harbour authority that expired today, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Following the closure of public submissions on the cruise plan which drew controversary, DLHC are to lodge a finalised planning application to An Bord Pleanala. The application will be accompanied by an (EIS) Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed berth regarded as a Strategic Infrastructure.

The cruise berth capable of handling some of the world's largest cruiseships, formed part of the DLHC Masterplan adopted in 2011 and in the knowledge of the declining Stena Line ferry operations. 

The plan for a new 435m jetty in the centre of the harbour with associate 300m cruise quay is to accommodate massive cruiseships that are even larger than those calling at anchorage. 

This seasons first caller, notably the 333m long MSC Splendida of 137,000 tonnes is due on 11 May with 3,600 passengers and 1,300 crew. The cruiseship's crew total is 200 short of those taken on the HSS 1500 series Stena Explorer.

An announcement by the ferry operator last February that is was to withdraw operating the seasonal-only Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route permanently in 2015.

Stena citing unsustainable losses and concentrated on their existing use of Dublin Port services to Holyhead served by last month's newcomer Superfast X alongside Stena Adventurer. The Dublin Port Company's proposed €30 cruise terminal near the East-Link bridge was unveiled recently at the Miami Exhibition, Florida.

In regards to the final HSS Stena Explorer sailing (see Ships Monthly photo) on Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route this took place last September. A subsequent stint of sailings to cover the Festive and New Year sailings were cancelled on the historic Ireland-Wales link.

At Dun Laoghaire the specialist ro-ro-linkspan structure is exclusively designed for use of HSS Stena Explorer. As previously reported, as part of the Stena contract with DLHC there are plans underway by subsidaries of the ferry company to remove the HSS related structure from St. Michaels Wharf.

As part of the proposed cruise-berth plan, the St. Michaels Wharf ferry terminal's vehicle marshalling area are to be used for cruise-ship related traffic in the form of coaches and taxis. In addition is the construction of a boardwalk overlooking the adjoining 820-boat marina. 

The HSS ferry terminal completed in the mid-1990's stands on the site of a former car-ferry terminal dating to the 1960's and is from where ferries may return. As previously reported, an invitation from DLHC was sought from suitable providers to resume the Ireland-Wales route with submissions due by February.

DLHC required that such a ferry operator would re-open the route on a seasonal-only basis, in which seven parties expressed an interest. Should such operations begin, DLHC have stated this would not be until 2016.

#FerryResumes - The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's fast-ferry Manannan resumed scheduled services today on the Douglas-Liverpool route.

The craft completed sea trials ysterday after extensive repairs. As previously reported, the craft was damaged having taken an injestion of floating debris in the water before Easter.

The Steam Packet's Chief Executive Mark Woodward commented yesterday: 'Following repairs to the two starboard water jets and the starboard trim tab Manannan has just completed berthing trials and a short sea trial off Douglas. I am pleased to advise that everything went well and the vessel is ready to return to operational service'.

'I would like to thank our passengers for their patience and understanding while Manannan was being repaired. This has obviously been a difficult period and I want to again apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

'The nature of the damage suffered was the worst we have seen to one of our fast craft vessels. Our team of engineers and divers has worked tirelessly to ensure Manannan was returned to normal service as quickly as possible.'

#DunLaoghaireFerryCruise - Today a month ago was the first full day in service of Stena Superfast X on the Dublin Port-Holyhead route. By coincidence, today also marks the HSS Stena Explorer's maiden commercial crossing to Holyhead in April 1996, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The launch in March this year of Stena Superfast X on the Dublin Port route effectively replaced HSS Stena Explorer from the alternative Dun Laoghaire route to Holyhead. The fast-ferry catamaran craft which served almost two decades on the historic Ireland-Wales link was withdrawn last year with the final sailing on 9 September.

This leaves Superfast X kept busy running alongside route partner Stena Adventurer to Holyhead, the port in Anglesey where the HSS craft remains idle in a laid-up state.

The 19,638 tonnes craft is a sad sight as she languishes in the inner harbour completed in 1880 as the first purpose built rail and sea terminal of the north Wales port.

Afloat.ie has contacted Stena as to the fate of HSS Stena Explorer which they say at present that there has been no decision made on her future.

When the HSS (High-speed Seaservice) Stena Explorer was introduced, she represented a revolutionary leap in the world ferry industry due in part to her large freight vehicle capability. In addition the adaptation of aviation gas turbine technology. This powered water jets allowing for 99 minutes crossings! during the early heyday years.

It was the sheer sense of space which I recall vividly from making that maiden sailing as she set off from the unique linkspan structure. Also the huge panorama widow at the bow affording excellent views as she departed the mouth in Dun Laoghaire and sped smoothly across tthe Irish Sea.

The single passenger deck layout been split-level was for the majority of the interior very much open plan. Though the opposite applied in terms of having a very restricted open deck space at the stern. From there, the craft had a rather ungainly appearance but was redeemed with a striking futuristic bow lines and the lattice window structure amidships. 

A fellow former Irish Sea based sister, HSS Stena Voyager as previously reported on Afloat.ie was scrapped in 2013. She was towed to Öresundsvarvet shipyard in Landskrona, Sweden and was dismantled by Stena Recycling in which parts were re-used for furniture!

Stena Voyager was withdrawn from service two years previously following the closure of the Belfast-Stranraer route. This led to Stena switching Scottish ports to neighbouring Cairnryan also on Lough Ryan.

The relocation of ports involved constructing a purpose built terminal at a site close to Cairnryan named Loch Ryan Port. The facility is from where a pair of sisters of Superfast X operate on the North Channel route on the Belfast-Cairnryan link.

Given the new dynamics of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company's proposed €18m cruise-berth facility, the former ferry vehicle marshalling area is to be transformed for cruise-related coaches and a taxi-rank.  

To what degree will this proposal have should a new operator be found to reopen a seasonal-only service as sought by DLHC. According to the port authority such operations if proved an option would not resume until 2016.

#FerryDamage – Fast-ferry, Manannan remains out of service following damage last week to the Isle of Man Steam Packet craft.

The reason for the cause of the damage was due to ingestion of floating debris that led to cancelled sailings over Easter and also disrupted services to Ireland. 

Fortunately, the operator's main ferry, the conventional Ben-My-Chree was able to cover in for some sailings though this was at the expense of some of her routine Douglas-Heysham sailings.

Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: 'Work is progressing well to repair the damage to the trim tab and water jet steering gear'.

He added 'I would also like to scotch some of the rumours circulating on some social media platforms and forums. We have never attributed this damage to fishing gear. What we have said is that it is because of debris in the water. The nature of the damage – the worst we have ever seen – suggests that something very substantial was ingested.

'Since 2007 there have been 17 recorded major incidents where our ships have been damaged and passengers have been inconvenienced by disrupted schedules as a result. This latest incident is likely to cost in excess of £100,000 in repair costs alone.

'It is interesting to note too that P&O Express, the ship we chartered to cover yesterday's Belfast service because of the damage to Manannan's steering gear, was itself damaged when leaving the Island yesterday.

It reported a trim tab failure, similar to what happened to Manannan. As a result they had to cancel their own sailings yesterday afternoon and evening.'

#FerrytoCruisePlans – With increasingly mixed reaction on Dun Laoghaire Harbour's plans for a proposed new €18m cruise berth facility, what will happen to the existing albeit redundant Stena HSS fast-ferry linkspan berth, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Afloat.ie has inquired with Stena Line to confirm the status of the unique ro-ro port infrastructure on St. Michaels Wharf. The ro-ro linkspan berth was exclusively designed to serve the High Speed Seaservice (HSS) car-carrying and freight craft catamaran, Stena Explorer. She made her debut on the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route in April 1996.

It is now almost seven months ago since the route to Holyhead closed with the final sailing departing Dun Laoghaire Harbour on 9 September. Stena say as part of their agreement with Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, they will have to remove the linkspan and that they are making plans to do so with the assistance of Stena Metall and Stena Teknik.

The end of the Ireland-Wales route, came as no surprise as there was widespread speculation in recent years over the service's ability to be viable. It was in February when Stena announced the permanent closure of the route and that there would be no service in 2015.

This led to Stena pulling out of Dun Laoghaire Harbour and concentrate instead out of neighbouring Dublin Port on the existing route to Holyhead and launch of Stena Superfast X alongside Stena Adventurer.

When the HSS Stena Explorer entered service almost two decades ago, the Dun Laoghaire linkspan was custom built for the fast-ferry. Incidently, she was the first HSS launched and would become the last of the trio of HSS 1500 series to remain serving Stena Line. 

When berthing at the linkspan, the HSS Stena Explorer did not require mooring ropes alongside St. Michaels Wharf, but instead satellite technology guided the 19,638 tonnes fast-ferry to the linkspan. Shore-based arms would clamp at the craft-stern upon arrival and released for the departing sailing on the 52-nautical mile crossing to Anglesey.

An Irish Sea serving sister, HSS Stena Voyager which served Belfast-Stranrear (since closed) had on occasions appeared on the central corridor route to cover for 'Explorer's dry-docking. As for the third sister, HSS Stena Discovery, she served on the southern North Sea on the Harwich-Hook van Holland route.

Currently, a public consultation process on the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company's cruise-berth proposal is underway with an expiry date for submissions / observations next Monday 13 April (for further details click HERE).

The consultation is in advance of an expected planning application by DLHC on behalf of the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group to An Board Pleanala.

If the plan goes ahead the cruise facility would incorporate use of the former Stena ferry terminal on St. Michaels Wharf which was built in the 60's and originally featured a pair of ro-ro ferry berths.

The former Stena terminal as previously reported would also be transformed as the ferry vehicle marshalling area would be turned into coach, taxi and mini-bus parking use. 

In addition the project would involve constructing a new boardwalk overlooking the adjoining 820-boat marina.

#FerryTotals- According to Ferrystat figures for 2014, this year's season bodes well as the industry body in the UK, Discover Ferries released statistics earlier in January that indicates a revival in the sector for 2015.

2014 was the second successive year showing annual growth of a million passengers by ferries – increasing, in round terms, from 37m passengers in 2012 to 38m in 2013 and 39m in 2014.

Passenger numbers across the UK's network of 75 routes were up 2.6% or a full million in 2014, to 39.01m (compared with 38.01m in 2013). Those passenger taking cars were up 1.6% at 8.5m, and over 163,300 coaches were carried by ferry in 2014, an increase of 3.1%.

Ferry passengers travelling to Ireland by operators including Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries and Stena Line, were up 1.4% overall in 2014 to 4.87m, with the "central corridor" Holyhead and Liverpool routes to Dublin the best-performing sub-sector, showing 2.9% growth to 2.13m passengers.

According to the Daily Post, a record number of people caught the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin last year. Some 1.88 million people made the trip from the Welsh port to the Republic of Ireland capital in 2014 — the highest annual figure since 2003.

In 2003 1.35m journeys were made along the route, meaning its popularity has increased nearly 40% in just over a decade. For more details on this story, click here.

The Ferrystat report on the Continental ferry routes market reported the strongest passenger growth sector in 2014, up 3.7% to 18.32m with the key Dover-Calais/Dunkirk short Channel routes operated by DFDS, P&O Ferries and MyFerryLink up 4.4% to 13.29m.

North Sea routes to Holland by DFDS, P&O Ferries and Stena Line were up 2.9% to 1.75m passengers, with the western Channel sector, operated by Brittany Ferries and DFDS, up 1.5% to 2.85m.

On the UK's domestic mainland ferry routes, they were up 1.8% overall to 15.83m passengers overall, with Scottish routes performing best, up 3.9% to 6.19m passengers served by ferry lines like Cal-Mac and Northlink. Isle of Wight passenger figures via operators such as Red Funnel and Wightlink, rose 0.7% to 8.64m in 2014.

#WorldFerryFirst - A World first in the ferry industry as this month of March marks the methanol fuelled, Stena Germanica back into service.

On 26 March, the 2001 built ferry re-entered on the Gothenberg-Kiel service after a couple of months' lay off to facilitate conversion work.

Now, as the world's first methanol powered ferry goes into service, Stena Line is the first shipping company to operate a ferry with environmentally friendly methanol as the main fuel. This will mean reduces emissions of sulphur and particles drastically compared to previously used fuels.

The project has been carried out in collaboration with the engine manufacturer Wärtsilä, the ports of Gothenburg and Kiel as well as the world's largest producer and supplier of methanol, Methanex Corporation.

"We are very enthusiastic about methanol's possibilities and it has the potential to be the maritime fuel of the future. We want to pursue change and development in the shipping sector and, with the Stena Germanica, our environmental impact will be completely different to what the industry has seen before," said Carl-Johan Hagman, CEO Stena Line.

Methanol is a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and cost efficient fuel that reduces the emissions of sulphur and particles by 99%.

The conversion of the 1,500 passenger capacity ferry has been carried out in Gdansk, Poland, at the Remontova shipyard.

The Polish group's neighbouring yard in Gdynia is where the major overhaul and refit of Stena Superfast X took place prior to her Irish Sea debut earlier this month on the Dublin Port-Holyhead route.

The refurbishment of Stena Germanica at the shipyard has been on innovation to benefits the company's customers and society in general, and being the first in the world to convert a ferry to run on methanol is a large step towards long-term sustainable transports.

According to Stena, the emissions from methanol are roughly the same as for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), but are easier to process and do not place the same demands on infrastructure. Since 2005, Stena Line has worked to reduce its environmental impact by means of an energy-saving programme and it has succeeded in reducing the energy consumption of our ships by an average of 2.5% per year.

Methanol is a colourless liquid that can be produced from natural gas, coal, biomass or even CO2. By using methanol, the emissions of sulphur (SOx) are reduced by roughly 99%, nitrogen (NOx) by 60%, particles (PM) by 95% and carbon dioxide (CO2) by 25% when compared to fuels currently available.

Stena recently received this year's Green Ship Technology (GST) award for efforts in converting the Stena Germanica to run on methanol. The company's important project and for the entire industry, is seen to be more long-term in sustainable fuel alternatives in order to remain competitive.

#FreightLeadership – Irish Sea ro-ro freight-only operator, Seatruck Ferries have appointed Alistair Eagles as the company's new CEO with effect from 7 May this year.

Concurrent to this, Ole Frie will step down from his position as Chairman for Seatruck, and Kristian Morch will become the new Chairman of the Board.

Eagles was part of the original team that founded Seatruck in 1996. He has been Commercial Director and since 2009 Managing Director Irish Sea for Seatruck. The 44 year-old has a degree in Transport Management from Loughborough University.

Together Fre and Eagles have been instrumental in the turnaround of Seatruck. Since 2012, the company has seen a very positive development, initiated by strong volume growth on the Irish Sea and the successful employment of the other vessels in the external charter market.

Frie joined Seatruck in 2007 and has taken a very active role in the business since then. He brought with him decades of experience from DFDS, where he stepped down as CEO in 2006.