Exactly a month after a tug arrived to Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the vessel finally departed as it crossed Dublin Bay, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Since 9 February, the tug CMS Thunderer has been berthed at the harbour's St. Michael's Wharf, following work carried out in Dublin Port. As reported last month, the tug was waiting for an improvement in the weather to continue its passage to the UK south coast.
According to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR), the tug departed yesterday as it took advantage of a suitable weather window to return to its operational duties. However, the 22 m tug owned by Scottish-based Clyde Marine Services Ltd of Greenock did not proceed to the English Channel but instead headed to home waters, albeit at Loch Ryan Port, close to Cairnryan.
CMS Thunderer departed the Irish east coast harbour yesterday afternoon and sailed overnight through the Irish Sea and North Channel to enter Loch Ryan. The tug berthed in the early hours of today with an arrival at around 0400 hours, completing a passage time of almost 14 hours.
Its arrival at Loch Ryan Port, a ferry terminal purpose-built for Stena Line, follows the 2011 relocation of the company's Scottish port to Old House Point and its service to Belfast. The then-new port replaced the historic ferry port of Stranraer further down the loch, which added to passage times.
Located between the disused port and close to Cairnryan village is where P&O’s established links operate to Larne, from where Stena originally operated before relocating to Belfast in 1995 and where its service to Stranraer remained for the next 16 years.
