Dublin-based Irish Ferries, rivals of Stena Line on the route to Holyhead port, which on Thursday (16 Jan) finally reopened, incidentally took place at the quietest time of the year as ferries dry-dock for routine annual overhauls, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Afloat looks at the current fleet movements of Irish Ferries, which had required notable alterations to routine schedules arising from the Holyhead disruption and knock-on effects elsewhere (as also detailed further below). Their W.B. Yeats, it is understood, became the first ferry to use Holyhead (albeit 'partially' reopened) since early December’s Storm Darragh, when incidents led to damage to one of the port’s two terminal berths.
This led to UK government marine investigators from the MAIB examining the damage to infrastructure in the more exposed outer harbour at the nation’s second busiest ferry port after the Port of Dover.
W.B. Yeats on the Thursday berthed at Terminal 5, which is used by Stena Line, while the adjacent damaged Terminal 3 berth remains unoperable for Irish Ferries. According to RTE News, as to the damaged berth getting back up and running, no definite timeline has been given by the Port of Holyhead, which is owned by Stena Line.
However, the port authority has insisted that it will still be able to operate at full volume by altering its schedule. This Afloat highlight is to accommodate both ferry companies that, at this less busy time of the early new year, see three ferries in service. This increases to four throughout the rest of the year, with the exception of the shoulder months and the summer, with another ferry and a fast craft, boosting additional capacity using six vessels in total.
Currently of the trio of ferries in service, Irish Ferries have the aforementioned W.B. Yeats and Stena's route partners, Stena Adventurer and Stena Estrid.
Arising from the major disruption during Storm Darragh, affecting thousands of passengers and freight volumes, particularly over the festive season, on the core Irish Sea short-sea route, a taskforce is to be set up between the Irish and Welsh governments to try and ensure that such a situation does not reoccur again. The task force is to also involve representatives from the ferry and port's industry.
As of 12 noon (17 Jan) Afloat tracked the Irish Ferries fleet movements, including those among the 8-strong fleet, which are either in dry dock, have departed, and are due to arrive at such a facility. It is expected that all of the fleet will have dry-docked in the coming weeks, ready for spring.
Irish Sea
Oscar Wilde, having completed its annual dry-docking, departed Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead on the River Mersey bound for Dover to resume its role as one of Irish Ferries two vessels serving on the Calais shortsea UK-France route. This was the first call of the chartered ferry from P&O to Merseyside, while its twin, Spirit of France, continues that operator's service on the Dover-Calais link.
Dublin Swift, the seasonal-only high-speed craft (HSC), as previously reported—continues to winter in port with a layover at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. In the spring it is to resume its ‘seasonal’ service on the Dublin-Holyhead route, increasing capacity by supplementing two cruise ferries, which can vary with the exception of Ulysses.
W.B. Yeats berthed in Holyhead, notably using rival Stena Line berth 5, while the adjacent berth 3 remains unoperable. The Dublin-Cherbourg cruise ferry in winter operates the Ireland-Wales route in tandem with Ulysses, which is off service (see below). Maintaining the year-round Ireland-France connection is the ropax, Isle of Inisheer (as also below).
Isle of Innisfree is underway almost midway between Rosslare-Pembroke bound for the South Wales port. During the temporary closure at Holyhead, operated on the new alternative Dublin-Fishguard route, followed by opening another ‘temporary’ route of Dublin-Pembroke. Both these routes to Pembrokeshire were historic, as Irish Ferries for the first time used the Stena Line-owned port of Fishguard, and the Irish capital-Pembroke route was unprecedented.
English Channel
James Joyce yesterday afternoon departed Rosslare bound for Dunkeque (East), France, for annual overhaul at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque, having been redeployed from the disrupted North Wales port, to boost double the capacity on the route to Pembroke, permitting routine ferry Isle of Innisfree to operate temporarily out of Fishguard (as above). The chartered cruise ferry, formerly Oscar Wilde (II), is in the English Channel and is due to arrive at the northern French port tomorrow morning.
Isle of Inisheer berthed at Cherbourg, the ropax, which is the smallest in the fleet, sailed overnight from Dublin and is to depart with a return sailing this afternoon. The ropax has taken over the roster of the W.B. Yeats for the winter. As for the ropax itself, a dry-docking has already taken place at the same Danish shipyard to where Ulysses is at the Fayard A/S shipyard (Munkebo) on Odense fjord accessed by the Great Belt (see further below).
Strait of Dover
Isle of Inishmore, approaching Dover on a routine sailing from Calais, awaits the return of Oscar Wilde from Merseyside on its repositioning voyage through the Irish Sea and English Channel. The ‘Inishmore’ launched the company’s inaugural UK-France service on the Strait in 2021; since then it was joined by the Isle of Innisfree and the Isle of Inisheer before they were transferred to new roles on the Irish Sea.
Scandinavia (Denmark)
Ulysses the main Dublin-Holyhead route cruise ferry; however, during the Holyhead chaos, it made its debut on the Dublin-Cherbourg connection. This year the cruise ferry went beyond the UK, for dry-docking, this time to Denmark, which Afloat understands is a first. This entailed a voyage to the Fayard A/S drydocks in Lindoe, near Odense, Funen, the third largest island off the mainland, with an arrival on 10th January.
The repositioning voyage to Denmark set off from Cherbourg, which led to an anchorage call off the Dutch coast. This was followed by heading into the North Sea, around the Jutland peninsula, and through the Skaggerak and Katteget to reach the dry dock in Odense fjord.
