Stena Line’s charter of MV Ben-my-Chree, from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, currently serving Fishguad-Rosslare, reports the Western Telegraph, is to end next month.
The Manx-flagged ferry replaced the St. George's Channel routes' usual ro-pax ferry, Stena Nordica (24,206 tons), which was deployed over the winter months to cover scheduled dry-docking of other Stena routes' ferries across the Irish Sea. It has a capacity for 630 passengers, 375 cars, or about 70 freight vehicles.
Its most recent deployment Afloat highlights the Holyhead-Dublin route to enable the Stena Adventurer to dry-dock at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, leaving the main Ireland-Wales route also in the hands of Stena Estrid.
The Ben My Chree (12,747 tons) was purpose-built in 1998 for the Douglas-Heysham route, and compared to the Nordica, it only accommodates 500 passengers, 200 cars, or about 95 freight vehicles. In 2004 the Dutch-built vessel underwent a refit to increase passenger capacity and a decade later had a further £1.6 million refit.
Ben my Chree, meaning ‘Woman of my Heart’ in Manx, was replaced in recent years by its successor flagship, Manxman. However, the ‘Ben’ returned on the North Irish Sea route earlier this month (during the Irish hauliers' fuel protest) for a one-off run, leaving Fishguard without a ferry.
During the charter, the small ferry has not been able to offer cabins to passengers nor been able to offer a premium lounge along with onboard Wi-Fi access.
Due to its size and build, sometimes the Ben is not able to run in higher seas, which has led to cancelled sailings due to weather. While sailings from rival operator Irish Ferries, whose Pembroke Dock route can run due to the larger ferry, Isle of Innisfree.
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