A 'reserve' ferry of the Isle of Man Steam Packet, which served Douglas-Dublin many years ago, arrived this afternoon onto the bay, before it continues into the port for berthing trials from midnight, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Its presence suggests a new charter for the ropax Ben-My-Chree, as operators struggle with the aftermath of Holyhead Port's storm-Darragh-damaged ferry jetty, and now with only 9 days left before Christmas Day, when ferries traditionally close services along with St. Stephens Day.
At 1620hrs Ben-My-Chree was observed when off the Baily Lighthouse, which presented a rare sight as the ropax, purpose-built for the Isle of Man services, anchored offshore of Dun Laoghaire Harbour, south of the Dublin Bay buoy.
It is believed that the Ben-My-Chree's run to Dublin route primarily occured prior to its spring 2004 refit, although it has served the Steam Packet's other "seasonal" routes to the island of Ireland since 1998, including the Douglas-Belfast route. Its capacity after the refit was increased from 500 to 630 passengers, with capacity for 275 cars and 90 freight trailers.
When the 12,747 gross ton Ben-My-Chree enters Dublin Port, it is so to carry out berthing trials at Terminal 1, which is used by Irish Ferries, whose sailings to Holyhead have all been cancelled, and likewise by competitor Stena Line, which uses nearby Terminal 2. The Steam Packet had also used Terminal 1 for their summer service to the Manx capital, run by the fast ferry Manannan.
The closure of the North Wales port has caused much upheaval with the deployment of both operators' ferries elsewhere, as previously reported, with ships rerouted onto existing routes and also having a knock-on effect with direct routes to France.
While on the Irish Sea last week, Stena established a new Ireland-Wales 'freight' route, Dublin-Fishguard, albeit temporary, to cope with challenging demands from hauliers as part of efforts to get freight moving again between the vital Ireland-UK routes. In addition to preparing ahead of next week's busy surge in passengers travelling to reach Christmas in time, which has led to this route now adding 'passengers'.
Ben-My-Chree's Irish call followed a sailing from Heysham, from where the Steam Packet operates their main year-round route to the port in Lancashire, England, which is operated by the 'Ben's sucessor, the Manxman introduced last year. The flagship has also operated on the link to Liverpool with its newly opened terminal, along with the 'seasonal' service extended this year to October.
Also in that month, Ben-My-Chree headed to Scotland, where on the Firth of Clyde it carried unsuccessful berthing trials for CalMac, which had planned to introduce larger capacity with the ropax so to relieve pressure on the Arran route this winter.
