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Displaying items by tag: RoRo introduced

Stena Line has introduced a larger (chartered) ro-ro freight ferry, Bore Song, on the Dublin – Liverpool (Birkenhead) route, which will increase capacity on the Ireland-England route by 30%.

The Dublin-Liverpool dedicated freight service has been operational since 15th February with cover ships (Stena's Horizon/Nordica) serving customers temporarily whilst the company searched for a longer-term solution.

Bore Song entered service on the route last night (14 April) on the 18:00hrs sailing from 12 Quays in Birkenhead (see photo above). With capacity for almost 3,000 lane metres of freight, the ship provides significantly more space and is well suited for the demand for unaccompanied freight on this route.

With the addition of the new vessel to the Irish Sea fleet, Stena Line will now restore capacity on the Rosslare – Fishguard and Rosslare – Cherbourg routes.

Paul Grant, Trade Director Irish Sea, Stena Line said, “Bore Song is a welcome addition to our Stena Line fleet and will secure our capacity on our new unaccompanied freight route between Dublin and Birkenhead. Our ships and our teams onboard have been flexible with covering the route whilst we searched for a longer-term solution, and we’re delighted to have secured the vessel to boost our freight capacity and better serve our customers on a key trading route between Ireland and Britain.”

The Swedish company is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet providing up to 248 weekly sailings offering the widest choice of routes including combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan; Belfast to Liverpool; Dublin to Holyhead; Rosslare to Fishguard and Rosslare to Cherbourg.

The company also runs a dedicated freight only route from Belfast to Heysham, in addition to the new Dublin – Liverpool service.

Published in Stena Line

Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. 

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.

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