Displaying items by tag: St. Patrick's Day

15th February 2013

Euro-Celtic Countdown! as Gathering Looms Over the Horizon

#GatheringVoyage- Passengers booked on a Celtic Link Ferries sailing from France one month from today (15 March) in advance of St. Patrick's Day, will be taking advantage of a special €1 euro 'Gathering' fare, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The special offer was an initiative by CLF in this year-long Gathering of events and next month's National Day of festivities.

Celtic Horizon operates three round-trip sailings weekly and among the 27,522 tonnes ro-pax facilities are the Cherbourg Café, Tuskar Lounge and Rosslare Bar. In addition there are a choice of cabin accommodation for the overnight 17-hour crossing between Normandy and Wexford.

Rory McCall, passenger sales manager said "Celtic Link Ferries will ensure that passengers get great value crossings to and from France all year long in 2013. It is only fitting that we give our passengers the best value deal ever between France and Ireland on 15 March".

This month CLF celebrate their eighth year in service, having taken over the route in 2005, following the closure of the service the previous year run by P&O Ferries.

Published in Ferry

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17th March 2012

National Ferry Fortnight Launched

#FERRY FORTNIGHT – With today's St. Patrick's Day festivities, the national event also coincides with the launch of our nearest neighbour's National Ferry Fortnight (17th-30th March) campaign held in the UK, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Each year around 13m people travelled between the UK and Ireland while more than 10m people took to the skies.

The UK has an extensive ferry network of approximately 50 routes including those serving the islands. Of the 11 shipping operators that are members of the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA), five of them serve on routes to Ireland.

Those participating in the ferry campaign which operate on the Irish market are Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, P&O and Stena Line.

To read more about all the ferry firms participating in the National Ferry Fortnight campaign click HERE.

Published in Ferry

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14th June 2011

Lee Looks Ahead to All Antarès Arrival

A trio of French Naval mine-route survey craft are to sail upriver of the River Lee this Friday and are to berth in the Port of Cork at the North Custom House Quay, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The craft BRS Antarès (M 770), BRS Altaïr (M 771) and BRS Aldébaran (M 772) represent all of the three-ship Antarès-class which are based in the Breton naval base of Brest. At 28m long the rather stout-looking craft (photo) weigh some 250 tonnes displacement and have a crew of 23.

Leadship of the class BRS Antarès entered service in 1993 and was followed by the remaining pair which too were built by Chantier (Socarenam) in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

In March the BRS Altaïr accompanied the minehunter CMT Cassiopée (M642) to Dublin for a four-day visit during the St. Patrick's Day festival.

Published in Navy

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15th March 2011

French Navy to Visit Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival

Two vessels from the French Navy based in the Breton naval port of Brest, are to make a four-day visit to Dublin Port during the course of St. Patrick's Day festivities. The minehunter CMT Cassiopée (M642) and mine-route survey craft Altaïr (M771) are to arrive tomorrow morning, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The French vessels are to moor alongside Sir John Rogersons Quay, noting they will not be open to the public. Despite that, the naval ships will be accessible to view at close quarters along the city-centre quayside and the addition of easy road access from the north quays using the nearby Samuel Beckett swing-bridge.

CMT Cassiopée is a 'Tripartite' class minehunter built for the navies of France, Belgium and The Netherlands. The class were conceived in the 1970's and built during the following decade. The French built the mine-hunting equipment, the Belgians provided the electronics and the Dutch constructed the propulsion unit.

Displacing 615 tonnes, Cassiopée (see photo) was built by the Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) shipyard in Lorient and entered service in 1984. The 51.5m minehunter has a crew of 49. Over the years several of the Tripartite class were sold to the navies of Bulgaria, Indonesia, Latvia and Pakistan.

In January 2009 the Cassiopée was joined by the L.E. Emer (P21) in Bantry Bay to commemmorate the 30th anniversary of the Whiddy Island Oil Refinery disaster and the sinking of the French supertanker the Bételgeuse.

Like the Cassiopée the minehunter BRS Altaïr (M771) was also built in 1984 but at the Chantier (Socarenam) shipyard at Boulogne-sur-Mer. At 28m long the craft (photo) is one of the three Antar class which has a 250 tonnes displacement and a crew of 23.

The French Naval call to the capital was to coincide with a visiting task force group from the German Navy. The task force of two frigates and a support ship were due to visit at the weekend but this was cancelled due to humanitarian relief operations off Libya. To read more about this and the task force vessels click here.

Published in Ports & Shipping

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Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!