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Displaying items by tag: High water

Continued high water levels have prompted Waterways Ireland to prohibit access to the floating jetty in Shannonbridge on the Shannon Navigation.

All masters of vessels and users of the inland waterway are advised that lighting to the area has been turned off as the power supply distribution box is currently submerged.

Published in Inland Waterways

Due to recent poor weather conditions, Waterways Ireland is currently operating at increased water levels on the Shannon, Erne, Barrow and River Bann.

As a consequence, boat owners, and those in the vicinity of our waterways, need to take additional care and bear the following points in mind:

  • For boaters, air draft is reduced under all bridges and power lines.
  • Access to jetties may be difficult as the walkway providing access to the jetty may have elevated due to the increased water levels.
  • The markers, pontoons and jetties may be under water.
  • The speed at which the water flows has significantly increased and boat owners and those along the navigations should take extra care when travelling.

Waterways Ireland encourages all waterway users to put safety first in these flood conditions.

Previously it was reported that the Jamestown Canal in Roscommon has been closed due to high water levels until further notice.

Waterways Ireland will install a dam system to protect the canal banks here, which will remain in place until water levels drop.

Published in Inland Waterways

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).