A ropax ferry, new to a Pembrokeshire port, arrived in South Wales at the weekend, in preparation for taking over on a temporary basis Stena Line's Fishguard-Rosslare route until December, writes the Western Telegraph.
Stena Line has chartered the MV Ben My Chree, which bears the emblem of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, which berthed at Fishguard Harbour on Sunday. Afloat tracked the ferry, having departed Douglas and made its first-ever arrival to the Welsh port on the previous day for berthing trials and those carried out at the Irish port on the same day.
The former flagship and current reserve ferry of the IOMSPCo will on a temporary basis replace the St. Georges Channel route ropax Stena Nordica, which Afloat highlights completed its first relief sailing from Holyhead to Dublin, which will be followed by a routine dry docking later this month.
Ben-my-Chree is a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry equipped to accommodate 650 passengers and 200 cars; however, the Dutch-built 1998 ropax originally had a smaller capacity of 500 following a refit in 2004. A decade later, the 12,747-ton ferry had a further refit costing £1.6 million; see Afloat's related coverage.
The Western Telegraph understands that the route from Fishguard to Rosslare will be covered by the Manx ferry from today, Monday, 3 November, to 18 November. It's first sailing was to have taken place from Fishguard but has changed, with the Ben-my-Chree scheduled to depart instead from Rosslare this evening at 1930hrs. (In an update), the sailing tonight is cancelled due to adverse weather, with passengers automatically transferred to the Irish Ferries Rosslare to Pembroke Dock sailing at 20:45hrs.
The Steam Packet's ferry is to finish the run on 18 November, and it is understood that Fishguard Port will then be closed until 4 December, as Afloat previously reported, for maintenance.
More here on the chartered ferry, which is to return on the Ireland-Wales route in December involving a space-charter agreement with Irish Ferries, which is also taking place this month.
