Marking what it described as a “new dawn”, an Antrim company has launched the province’s largest sightseeing passenger ferry.

The new vessel Kintra II marks a £1 million investment by Kintra Boat Tours, and the creation of eight jobs.

The vessel is licensed to carry 84 passengers, and was commissioned in August 2020 from Blyth Catamarans.

It joins Kintra I, the company’s first vessel which provides sightseeing and wildlife tours along the Northern Irish coastline.

Experienced mariner Charles Stewart and business partner Dawn Hynes set up Kintra Boat Tours in March 2020, just as a pandemic took hold. After what Stewart describes as a “choppy start”, the company has benefited from the substantial increase in staycations.

“The North coast is one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and it’s been a long-held ambition to enable locals and tourists to view the incredible wildlife and scenery from sea,” Stewart said.

The vessel was launched on Friday in Ballycastle by the North’s Minister for the Economy, Gordon Lyons and Mayor of the Causeway Coast and Glens councillor Richard Holmes.

“Today marks a milestone for the local economy, our tourism offering and for our company,” Dawn Hynes said.

“ The addition of Kintra II will enable us to create new job roles locally, and also to more than double our capacity, which is especially important for the summer season,” she said.

Kintra Boat Tours sail all year round from Ballycastle along the North coast and Rathlin Island.

The company says its vessel skippers are “incredibly knowledgeable about the geography, history and the wildlife” along the coastline and on the L-shaped island with its puffin colony. All trips also have a wildlife guide onboard.

The Cork County Mayor says the Department of Rural & Community Development has agreed to provide funding for the introduction of a temporary ferry service to Dursey Island to replace the cable car operation which will cease tomorrow for repair work.

Mayor Gillian Coughlan announced today that Cork County Council will undertake a procurement process to provide the ferry service.

"It is the intention of the Council and the Department to put this service in place as soon as possible."

In 2015 Stena Line made history by converting one of the largest RoPax ferries in the world, the 240-metre Stena Germanica, to become the world’s first methanol powered ferry. Now the Swedish ferry company has achieved another world first, by powering Stena Germanica with methanol recycled from residual steel gases.

This week Stena Line took the next step on their sustainable journey towards achieving zero carbon when the Stena Germanica travelled from Sweden to Germany powered by recycled methanol. The new fuel dubbed ‘Blue Methanol’, is recycled from residual steel gases, a by-product of the steel production industry and helps reduce the ferry’s reliance on diesel, thus lowering the vessel’s carbon emissions further.

By making Stena Germanica blue the new fuels helps the vessel become greener! This week’s journey is another milestone in this ground-breaking project, which launched in 2015 when the dual-fuel system onboard Stena Germanica was converted to allow the vessel to run on both methanol and diesel fuel. It is the world’s first methanol powered RoPax (passenger and freight) ferry, which operates on the Gothenburg – Kiel route.

Stena Line developed it with several partners, including Methanex, Wärtsilä and EU's Motorways of the Seas project. The conversion project was the first of its kind in the world and was so unique that it established methanol as a marine fuel for the first time ever.

"It is exciting to be part of our sustainable journey and try out another new sustainable fuel. I can confirm that we sailed with the new fuel from Gothenburg to Kiel on June 22 and it worked very well,” says Peter Holm, Chief Engineer Stena Germanica.

While methanol is a fossil fuel, it is much cleaner than traditional marine fuel. Sulphur and particulates are reduced by 90% and nitrogen by 60%. The steel industry and the maritime sector are two of the world’s biggest emitters of CO2, accounting for 6-8% and 2.5% of all CO2 emissions respectively. The FReSMe project, funded by H2020 EU program, aims to demonstrate the whole process that enables the CO2 captured from the steel industry to produce methanol fuel that will be used as fuel in the ship transportation sector.

“This collaboration between the steel and the maritime sectors is the first of its kind and demonstrates that by working together companies from different backgrounds can greatly improve their effect on the climate. For Stena Line this is another successful proof of concept for our methanol conversion ferry and a further bridge towards our aim of fossil free shipping,” says Erik Lewenhaupt, Head of Sustainability Stena Line Group.

The iconic orange and white colours of Cape Clear Ferries will shortly become a familiar sight around Cork Harbour with the launch of Cork Harbour Cruises on Sunday 20th June next.

The Cailín Óir vessel has recently been upgraded to cater for 100 passengers with additional popular upper deck seating for panoramic 360° views of the spectacular harbour.

The service will operate from both Cork City Centre and Crosshaven to offer a range of excursions including a new service to Spike Island which is one of Ireland’s most up and coming visitor attractions. Operating from Crosshaven this 30-minute trip offers scenic views and commentary en route to the historic Island and its imposing fortifications.

The Cailín Óir can cater for young and old alike with no age restrictions and even on rainy days its large windows ensure that the sights can be enjoyed in perfect comfort. Refreshments will be available on board and Cork, being the storytelling capital of Island, will also feature stories and anecdotes from the area’s rich maritime history.

Operating from the Marina in Cork City the service offers mini after lunch cruises together with a longer excursion into the Harbour. Since Cork is a bustling harbour with a great range of activities, wildlife, scenery and weather conditions no two days will be quite the same.

Evening sunset tours are perhaps the best way to end a perfect summer’s day.

The service will also cater for private groups and parties.

Weather permitting, a flotilla of wooden-built Galway hookers will escort an aluminium-built passenger ferry out on the first leg of its maiden voyage between Galway city and the Aran islands this morning.

Several gleoiteogs with Galway Hooker Sailing Club aim to accompany the new Aran Island Ferries fast ship out past Mutton island.

As Afloat reported previously, Named Saoirse na Farraige (freedom of the sea), the 400-seat passenger ferry was built in Hong Kong for Aran Island Ferries, the company run by the O’Brien family of An Cheathrú Rua, Co Galway.

It offers a longer sea trip but faster overall journey west from Galway city to Inis Mor.

It is almost 40 years since the O’Briens took their first passengers in the Galway hooker, An Tonaí, and then purchased their first passenger ferry named the Dún Aengus in 1983.

The family company now has a fleet of five-passenger ferries, and their routes between Ros-a-Mhíl and the three Aran islands will be complemented by the new 40-metre ship on the Galway city- Inis Mór route.

The vessel built in Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong has a speed of 20 knots, and its master is Donegal man and former pelagic fisherman Shane McCole.

It has a capacity for 394 passengers – as in a 306 passengers on the main deck, divided into two seating areas, and a semi-covered space for 88 passengers on the top deck.

However, the ferry will be carrying reduced capacity to meet with Covid-19 health and safety guidelines.

Passengers leaving for Inis Mór at 9.30am from Galway docks will have the option of a return journey via the Cliffs of Moher in Clare.

The Doolin2Aran Ferries company in Doolin, Co Clare, also offers cruises below the sea cliffs from Doolin pier.

Saoirse na Farraige claims to have “ the cleanest exhaust emission” of any ferry on Irish waters.

It is fitted leather seating, charging points and plasma screens – earning it the local nickname of “GoBus” at sea – and it has a wheelchair lift.

The O’Briens say the new route will create 15 new jobs, after what has been “a tough year for all involved in tourism”.

The Port of Galway has welcomed the first passenger ferry service from the city to the Aran Islands since 2005.

The combined Aran Island Ferries fleet of six vessels has a total facility for 1,420 passengers when at full capacity.

Ticket prices for a return journey on Saoirse na Farraige from Galway docks will be:

Adult: €49, Student/Senior: €44, Child: €25

With the expectation that travel restrictions between Ireland and Britain will be removed soon, ferry company Stena Line is bringing its new vessel Stena Estrid back to its key Holyhead – Dublin route.

It will replace the Stena Horizon, which will return to its former role serving Rosslare – Cherbourg.

The ships had swapped due to increased freight demand on direct routes to France and low travel volumes between Holyhead and Dublin. The end of lockdowns have resulted in freight volumes increasing again, so the company needs to switch the vessels back to their pre-lockdown roles.

Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Trade Director says: “With huge pent up demand for travel between Ireland and Britain, and the added bonus of Duty Free, now’s the right time to switch Stena Estrid back.

Stena Horizon will again operate alongside Stena Foreteller on Rosslare – Cherbourg, offering 12 sailings per week to France. We’ve doubled our frequency on our direct services to the Continent.”

The last sailing of the Stena Estrid to France will be the 15:00hrs departure from Cherbourg on 23rd May; the ship will then reposition for the 20:30 departure from Holyhead to Dublin on 24th May.

The last sailing of the Stena Horizon from Dublin to Holyhead will be the on 14:45hrs departure on 24th May. The vessel will then return to join the Stena Foreteller on the Rosslare – Cherbourg route, where Stena Line has doubled frequency post-Brexit and offers freight customers the most frequent and shortest service to North West France. Stena Horizon’s first departure from Rosslare to Cherbourg will 21:00hrs on 25th May.

Stena Estrid will provide two daily return crossings each way between Holyhead and Dublin. Where it is expected that onboard Duty-Free sales, now available after Brexit, will become very popular.

Stena Line offers the most comprehensive choice of services on the Irish Sea, with 6 routes from Ireland to Scotland, England, Wales and France, and more than 220 sailings weekly.

Irish Ferries and Stena Line, the two key players in Ireland’s ferry industry, are today calling for the reopening of the Common Travel Area (CTA) at the earliest opportunity. They also welcome comments made last week by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, when he talked about the possibility of restoring the Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and Britain as an “initial first step” for the travel and tourism sectors.

With virus levels now low in Ireland and the UK, and vaccination programmes progressing in both countries, Irish Ferries and Stena Line are calling on Ministers and industry stakeholders to urgently look at restoring the long-standing CTA agreement for Irish and UK citizens, and permit unrestricted travel between Britain and the island of Ireland.

Paul Grant, Trade Director for the Irish Sea, at Stena Line said: “COVID-19 infections are now at low levels and vaccination levels are increasing significantly in both countries. In the UK for example 66% of adults have now received their first dose and 30% have had both, so there is now a real need to focus on solving some of the economic impacts of the pandemic, and an obvious starting point are the hard-hit tourist, hospitality and travel sectors. With the restoring of travel between the islands of Ireland and Britain, we can start to rebuild these sectors locally in advance of the full resumption of international travel, which may take more time to agree and deliver.”

Andrew Sheen, Managing Director for Irish Ferries commented: “The ferry industry has played a key role in helping to keep vital food and medical supply lines open during the height of the pandemic. With the current UK infection rate of 48 cases per 100,000 population comparable to the lowest in Europe, we need to acknowledge the shared land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and eliminate the discrepancies and loopholes on travel restrictions on the island. Irish Ferries and Stena Line welcome the Tánaiste’s recent comments on the possibility of restoring the CTA in advance of the full resumption of international travel and would urge the Irish Government to prioritise its implementation.”

The issue with the CTA has arisen due to differing approaches by the Irish and UK governments. The Irish Government requires passengers from Britain to have a negative PCR test and they must also quarantine for 14 days on arrival. The UK Government has never imposed requirements for testing or quarantine for people travelling from anywhere on the island of Ireland to Britain. The Northern Ireland Assembly also has never imposed testing or quarantine on anyone travelling from Britain.

Both companies are also stressing that they need time to prepare for the resumption of travel. Urgent clarity is needed regarding dates so that the ferry companies can ensure they are ready from an operational perspective.

The go ahead to upgrade pier works at Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, has been approved by the Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.

As Galway Bay FM reports, Minister Humphreys has announced that a business case is to commence on the long-awaited project.

Galway County Council can now seek tenders for the project which is listed as one of the Government’s key infrastructure commitments in Project Ireland 2040.

The pier redevelopment addresses safety risk issues that have arisen over recent years, in particular the danger from waves breaking over the harbour.

Additionally, the upgrade aims to solve other challenges arising from the numbers of tourist and ferry vessels visiting the island.

Galway Senator Seán Kyne says the pier redevelopment is vital for the future of the island and the safety of harbour users.

Belfast Coastguard Rescue team was contacted this week by the Stena Superfast ferry inbound to Belfast in the shipping channel near Holywood.

On Monday, January 25th the ferry had encountered a lone paddleboarder dangerously close to the vessel. Holywood is on the south shore of Belfast Lough about four miles east of the city of Belfast. The Coastguard also had multiple reports from concerned citizens.

The ship used its horn to warn the person about being too close and contacted the Coastguard. Once on scene the team located the paddleboarder and kept eyes on. He managed to paddle his way back to shore. Bangor Lifeboat was also tasked to the incident and was stood down on route.

After speaking to the paddleboarder, it was confirmed he was intending to surf the wash from the ferry. The team warned of the dangers of being too close to such large vessels and about the dangers of being in the shipping lane.

Stena Line’s newest addition to its fleet, the brand-new Stena Embla ferry will make its Irish Sea debut on the Rosslare-Cherbourg service. Originally scheduled for service on the Belfast-Liverpool route, due to the current Brexit related shift for direct routes and increasing customer demand, Stena Line has decided to temporarily deploy the Stena Embla on Rosslare-Cherbourg. The first sailing will be the 20.25 hrs departure from Rosslare on Thursday 14th January 2021.

Stena Embla has the capacity to carry 3,100 freight lane meters, will increase freight capacity by 20% on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route and provide 60% more cabins for freight drivers. Stena Embla is the third E-Flexer ferry to be commissioned for Stena Line’s Irish Sea routes in the last 12 months, three of the most modern ferries in the world as part of a €400m investment.

Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Irish Sea Trade Director said: “Given the short-term market distortion, we have decided to temporarily deploy our new Stena Embla vessel on the Rosslare – Cherbourg route. Clearly, Brexit has created an increase in the demand for direct freight routes, and in particular, driver accompanied freight, so the addition of Stena Embla, whilst temporary, plus the recently introduced Stena Foreteller to the route will provide a welcome addition for our customers at this time.”

“Stena Line has always prided itself on being flexible when it comes to the efficient deployment of its fleet. Having very experienced onshore and onboard teams means that we are able to respond to market and customer demands rapidly. At present we are currently reviewing our Rosslare-Cherbourg operations and will keep engaging with our customers to identify the most appropriate Stena Line operation for the route.”

Glenn Carr, General Manager, Rosslare Europort said: “We warmly welcome Stena Embla to Rosslare for its maiden in-service voyage. We have been working closely with Stena Line to facilitate the unprecedented demand for capacity directly to and from the Continent, and the boost in capacity Stena Embla delivers has been mobilised swiftly through our close cooperation. On behalf of Irish industry and all of our customers and stakeholders, we thank Stena Line for their ongoing commitment to Rosslare Europort.”

Stena Embla will make three weekly return trips between Rosslare and Cherbourg, which alongside the Stena Foreteller will see Stena Line operate 12 crossing per week between Ireland and the Continent. Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet offering the widest choice of routes including, combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan and Liverpool, Dublin to Holyhead, and Rosslare to Fishguard routes, as well as a freight only route from Belfast to Heysham, a total of up to 238 weekly sailing options between Ireland and Britain.