CLdN Ro Ro S.A.’s freight ferry Seatruck Power is at Belfast today, having dry-docked last night following a repositioning passage from Dublin Port, from where it previously completed a crossing from Heysham, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 19,722 gross registered tons (GRT) Seatruck Power entered H&W’s Belfast Dry-Dock, but the 151-trailer-unit-capacity freighter is only to remain at the facility for days. While covering the Irish Sea route, the Precision, also built by German shipyard Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, is also one of the FGS/‘HeyshamMax’ class quartet, albeit with a shortened name (last month) along with the Seatruck brand removed. This finally reflects the end of its relationship with previous owner Seatruck, which CLdN announced its acquisition of in 2022 and was formalised the next year.

Precision as the stand-in freight ferry departed the capital this afternoon bound for the northwest of England port. To achieve this, during the morning, the freighter shifted berths from CLdN’s Terminal 4 (Alexandra Basin East) downriver to Terminal 5, which is shared with Stena Line (previously occupied by P&O), which closed their route with Merseyside in 2023, which effectively they took over, albeit at Birkenhead, opposite of Liverpool, where P&O had its long-established Irish Sea link.

Prior to Precision’s arrival in Dublin today, as alluded to, it sailed overnight from Liverpool’s recently revamped Brocklebank Dock by CLdN, as Afloat reported. The busy central Irish Sea trade route between Ireland and the UK, which, aside from Precision, is served by four more ro-ros—Progress (also FGS class), Catherine (built in China for Swedish interests), Victorine (Kawasaki class built in Japan), and Peregrine (Mazarine class, also FSG built), though later adapted with increased capacity.

The sale to Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Navigation (CLdN) opened up a strategic offering to incorporate the Irish Sea domestic market along with Seatruck’s custom-built 8-strong fleet of the P-class (also a quartet) and the FGS class. This complemented the landlocked-based owners extensive but predominantly northwest Europe short-sea route network. Notably, Dublin is a hub port with onward connections to London, ports in near continental Europe, western Scandinavia, and, more recently, Spain and neighbouring Portugal, albeit indirectly connected.  

Whatever the reason for the brief drydocking of the 142m Seatruck Power, time permitting, it perhaps presents an opportunity to finally complete the renaming and rebranding of the former Seatruck Ferries-owned ship since CLdN’s acquisition three years ago along with the former company based at the Port of Warrenpoint, Co. Down.

This would then only leave Seatruck Performance (the fourth member of the FGS quartet) and Seatruck Point (P class) as the sole ship left of this quartet to still be associated with the former brand. Coincidentally, both ships serve through the previous owner's homeport on Carlingford Lough, as Seatruck’s first route from Warrenpoint, also linking Heysham, had established the company in 1996 with the use of the chartered Bolero.

As a freight specialist, Seatruck (part of the Danish-based Clipper Group) set off to focus upon unaccompanied Irish Sea routes (albeit with limited private ‘motorists’ customers, which ceased in recent years) on routes of Warrenpoint-Heysham, then Dublin-Heysham, and finally Liverpool’s link with Ireland. As such, competing directly with P&O, Irish Ferries, and Stena which had chartered two FSG freighters on their Belfast-Heysham route, which led to renamings (Stena Percision and Stena Performa) along with the livery of the Swedish operator. 

When CLdN took over operating from Seatruck, initially this involved replacing just the funnel colours to theirs, but the makeover, in reality, still left the remnants with the livery brand name displayed on the fleet, amidships, but now only applies to the aforementioned unrenamed three ships.

However, it should be noted that originally the P-class quartet had names with the prefix 'Clipper', given its Danish parent owner. For example, the Clipper Pace, which was subsequently renamed Seatruck Pace (as Afloat featured on passage more than a decade ago). This year it was sold overseas to Egyptian interests, renamed Al Hussein, and based on the Gulf of Aqaba, plying between Nuweiba and Aqaba, Jordan. As for the remaining P pair, Clipper/Seatruck Panorama and Clipper/Seatruck Pennant, they were also disposed of, but in previous years.

Likewise, the FGS quartet, also known as the 'HeyshamMax' as the name clearly indicates, was designed with maximum capacity in mind with dimensions permitting its access yet within the port's limits, but with the opening of the Liverpool route, some of the class were transferred. This too is reflected on the Warrenpoint-Heysham route, in which the Seatruck brand that began almost 30 years ago remains visible but will ultimately disappear.