#MaidenSailing- Stena Superfast X, the new ferry on the Dublin Port-Holyhead route made her maiden commercial sailing this morning from Wales and completed the return leg to arrive in Anglesey this evening, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The introduction of the 1,200 pass/480 car Stena Superfast X fresh from a major refit comes in advance to tomorrow's (11 March) naming ceremony and official launch. This will be Stena Line's highest profile event on the central corridor Ireland-Wales route since Stena Adventurer made a debut in 2003.

By introducing a new ferry with four times the passenger capacity of her predecessor, Stena Nordica, this confirms Stena's commitment to consolidate all central Irish Sea operations out of Dublin Port to Holyhead.

Last month, Stena's decision over the future of the HSS fast-ferry Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route in 2015 was finally confirmed with the permanent closure of the service. The historic 52-nautical mile route's final sailing last year took place on 9th September. 

Freight capacity on the core Dublin-Holyhead route will be boosted by the entrant's 1, 924 lane metres of deck space which will cater for high-sided freight-trailers of 4.65 metres.

The Stena Superfast X operates two return sailings with a crossing time of 3 hours and 15 minutes. The 30,285 tonnes newcomer will operate alongside the Stena Adventurer, providing customers up to 28 return sailings weekly on the all year round on the route.

Superfast last Sunday carried out berthing trials in Dublin Port  and takes over the sailing roster of the 'Nordica' (see LED screen) . She carried out her final sailings yesterday from and to Holyhead, from where she made last night's repositioning passage to Belfast to arrive in the early hours of this morning.

The ferry is to be prepared for a delivery voyage to the Strait of Dover to operate Dover-Calais for another operator, in what is understood to be a charter arrangement.

#BerthingTrials - Stena Superfast X made her first ever call to Dublin Port today, where berthing trials of the new Holyhead route ferry took place in the Irish capital, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The berthing trial-run at Ferry Terminal 2 saw the 1,200 passenger / 480 car capacity ferry complete the exercise before lunctime. She then departed for the return leg to her Wales homeport, where the 30,285 tons made her delivery voyage to Holyhead last week fresh from a major refit in Poland. 

She is to be named in Dublin Port next week at Berth 51, where a combined naming ceremony and official launch is to take place at that terminal. Superfast will partner the route's Stena Adventurer which too was named alongside Berth 51 in 2003, then the new two tier ro-ro ramp was also officially opened on that occasion.

With no fewer than 10 decks, Stena Superfast X will offer passenger facilities among them family lounges featuring X-Box stations. In addition, a dedicated lorry drivers lounge and almost 2kms of lane space to boost capacity for vehicles and freight traffic.

Stena Superfast X will make two return sailings daily, completing the crossing in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Together she and Stena Adventurer will operate 28 return sailings weekly.

The newcomer is the only Stena Irish Sea ferry to be registered in the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Unlike predecessor 'Nordica' (soon to be displaced) and Stena Adventurer are both registered in London.

Superfast X will join an existing pair of Stena's Irish Sea serving sisters, Superfasts VII and VIII which in 2011 entered between Cairnryan-Belfast, from where they are registered.

#FerryDunLaogaire? – Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company has received seven expressions of interest from operators to provide a seasonal-only ferry service to Holyhead, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Afloat.ie has contacted the DLHC following last Friday's advert deadline for potential ferry operators to operate on the 52 nautical mile route.

A month ago, Stena Line confirmed the permanent closure of the historic Ireland-Wales link.

Prior to the ferry company responses, DLHC annnounced that any new operator would not be serving the route until at least 2016.

Following the responses, a spokesperson on behalf of DLHC said they 'will now consider these'. The harbour company added, 'final configurations would be a matter for discussion and agreement with a new provider, and would be in keeping and take account of the Harbour Company's Masterplan'.

As part of the Masterplan, the site of St. Micheal's Pier is where a major residential redevelopment is proposed.

For more than 170 years there has been a ferry service running between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead from where Stena Line has served the Irish Sea service since 1990.

In additon to conventional ferry tonnage, they introduced a small 'Lynx' fast-ferry in 1993 which was replaced by the world's largest fast craft, the HSS Stena Explorer in 1996.

Stena's decision to withdraw operations in the south Dublin Bay port, leaves a berth available for a new ferry operator in Dun Laoghaire Harbour using the terminal at St. Michaels Pier.

According to the advert document the berth is 140 metres long with a maximum depth of 5.8 metres. In addition the berthing facility is described as having a shore to ship ramp, which can easily be modified to facilitate the configuration of a new vessel.

Afloat.ie adds that St. Michaels Pier has two berths, one is custom-built to only accommodate the specialist requirements of the HSS Stena Explorer.

The second adjacent berth was also used by Stena Line when a 'Lynx' craft as previously referred but had returned in more recent years to the route. The Stena Lynx III served during the shoulder seasons when the HSS Stena Explorer had operated a year-round service until 2011.

The 19,638 tons HSS remains at her homeport of Holyhead and likewise at a custom-built berth in the inner harbour of the Welsh port.

Also in Anglesey is the Stena Superfast X, which made a delivery voyage last week from Poland having had a major refit. The 30,551 tons newcomer has yet to enter service on the Holyhead-Dublin Port route in competition with Irish Ferries. 

#Super&Swift- Irish Ferries HSC (high-speed craft) Jonathan Swift is currently the only such vessel operating on the Irish Sea, since the HSS Stena Explorer was withdrawn from service last September, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As Easter approaches, the competition for market-share on the Dublin-Holyhead route rises, with Stena Line set to launch Superfast X this month on the core Irish Sea route alongside Stena Adventurer.

Rivals, Irish Ferries fast-ferry is marketed as the Dublin 'Swift' which is partnered by Ulysses. In addition during weekdays sailings are provided by ro-pax Epsilon.

Stena Line, last month officially confirmed the permanent closure of the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead with no service by the HSS Stena Explorer in 2015.

This uniquely positions Irish Ferries Jonathan Swift as the only Irish Sea fast-ferry until P&O Ferries resume the Express fast-craft operated Larne-Troon seasonal route on 31st March.

Also joining this fast-ferry league will be the Isle of Man Steam Packet's Manannan which also reopens a seasonal service. Firstly, the Liverpool-Douglas route on 26th March.

Returning to Stena Line, Superfast X boasts 10 decks and a 1,200 passenger capacity ferry fresh from a recent major refit that took three months to complete in Poland.

Both passenger motorists and freight vehicle deck capacity will be almost 2kms long. High sided freight-trailers of up to 4.65 metres will also be accommodated.

Upon entry of Superfast X, she will directly replace the smaller Nordica which heads off for a new career on the Strait of Dover.

#FerryFortnight – The UK's National Ferry Fortnight (2-15 March) began today.

The annual event is to increase greater awareness of the ferry industry in which there are more than 75 routes operating to and from the UK.

Comprehensive details of ferry companies and routes from the UK to Ireland and the near continent are given here. In addition on routes serving the Channel Islands, Scottish Isles, the Isle of Man and Isle of Wight.

There are direct UK-Europe routes to Belgium, Holland, France and Spain as well as access to Germany, Scandinavia and beyond.

A total of 13 ferry operators have come together with offers to celebrate the Ferry Fortnight.

#HotelFerryReturns – Mary Fitzgerald, the private ferry of the Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort on Little Island has returned to the scenic Kings Channel route yesterday following dry-docking, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported earlier this week, the 14 car-capacity ferry, Mary Fitzgerald had undergone works at New Ross Boat Yard having entered the dry-dock on the banks of the Barrow last Monday.

Among the work carried out on Mary Fitzgerald (1972/221grt) were to her Azimuthing Schottel engines which power the ferry. The three-laned vehicle ferry is guided by cable-wires that run along the amidships while she frequently plies the waterway between Ballinakill on the mainland and the 310-acre island.

The passage time of the ferry from the drydock downriver of Rosbercon that faces New Ross to Little Island took some three hours to complete. This involved the former Lough Swilly ferry transiting the swing-bridge section of the Barrow Bridge that connects counties Waterford and Wexford.This bridge used to carry the trains of the Waterford-Rosslare Harbour railway line.

As reported on Afloat.ie Irish Rail Freight's intermodel (container-ship) services reopened almost two years ago in March 2013 to connect nearby Belview, the main terminal for the Port of Waterford and Ballina Co. Mayo.

As for Mary Fitzgerald's predecessor, Loreley, (as previously reported) was withdrawn last August. The vessel is currently laid-up on the Suir along Waterford City quays.

#CondorLiberation – Channel Islands ferry operator, Condor Ferries are to launch in one month's time the first sailing of Condor Liberation, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Condor Liberation, a £50m high-speed trimaran carferry which is the first of its kind to operate in northern Europe. She will serve Condor's routes based from Poole, Dorset by running daily sailings throughout the summer.

The Austal built 102m high-speed ferry represents a new era in sea travel for Condor when the inaugural sailing on 27 March departs Poole to Guernsey (St.Peter Port) and Jersey (St. Hellier). 

As the newcomer is a trimaran her (three-hull) design offers greater stability and better sea-keeping ability. Plus a recent refit of the 2010 built craft of on board passenger facilities carried out by Southampton based company Trimline.  

Last year, Condor Ferries celebrated their 50th year of running operations that first started in 1964 with passenger-only fast-craft.

As of last month, Condor announced in a naming competition by islanders that the 102m trimaran would be named Condor Liberation. The name chosen is in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the occupied Channel Islands during WW2.

By introducing not only a new high-speed ferry to the Islands, Condor are also to use the launch opportunity to show-off a rebranded corpoarte livery scheme.

Condor also operate UK-Channel Islands based from Portsmouth in addition to services linking both Guernsey and Jersey to St. Malo, France.

After the 'Liberation's setting down period, Condor will have then withdrawn two of an existing trio of Incat 86m fast-ferries leaving Condor Rapide to remain. In addition to this pair of fast-ferries, Condor continue to run the ro-pax ferry Commodore Clipper and a ro-ro freight-ferry, Commodore Goodwill. 

#StenaSuperfast - Stena Superfast X, which is due to make her debut on the Dublin-Holyhead route next week arrived in the Welsh port yesterday, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Her first call to the north Wales port follows a delivery voyage from Gdynia in Poland where she underwent an extensive refit.

Under command of Captain Richard Davies, Stena Line's 30,551 tonnes newcomer arrived at her homeport on Anglesey. It is understood initial berthing trials were made at the jetty.

Stena Superfast X has a capacity for 1,200 passengers and almost 2kms of space for cars and freight vehicles. The 204m long vessel had sailed from the shipyard in Gdynia where work to upgrade passenger facilities and reconfigure vehicle decks were carried out on the 10-deck ferry.

The re-modelling of passenger decks "will be a hint of Scandinavian design" commented Ian Davies, Stena Line Irish Sea Route Manager (South) during a recent interview on BBC Radio Wales.

Among the facilities are free cinema's, catering for adults and for children, while the family lounge will feature X-Box stations for further entertainment. In addition to a premium plus lounge and for freight customers there is a dedicated trucker's lounge.

Launch of the Superfast X next week on the core central Irish Sea route follows the company's decision to withdraw the HSS fast-ferry service on the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route. Instead, Stena are to concentrate all existing operations from Dublin Port on the Ireland-Wales link.

The Stena Superfast X will make two round-trips daily, taking 3 hours 15 minutes and will operate alongside Stena Adventurer. The new ferry replaces the smaller Stena Nordica on the route which as previously reported on Afloat.ie, is heading for a new career on the Straits of Dover.

#StenaSuperfast – Stena Line's latest flagship, Stena Superfast X which is to make her debut on the Dublin-Holyhead route next month is on her delivery voyage to the Irish Sea, writes Jehan Ashmore.

According to her master, Captain Richard Davies said "It is great to be back at sea and looking forward to bringing this magnificent vessel to her new home on the Irish Sea."

The 30,000 tonnes newcomer is currently off Scotland's west coast having sailed across the North Sea and passed offshore of John O'Groats at teatime yesterday. She had departed from Gdynia, Poland after an extensive refit to enhance levels of facilities for her 1,200 passengers.

Introduction of Superfast X will raise the bar on the core Irish Sea route also operated by close rivals Irish Ferries with the Ulysses, Epsilon and fast-ferry Jonathan Swift. 

Stena Superfast X is to make her first call to her new homeport of Holyhead and is understood to be tomorrow around dawn. At a later stage she will visit Dublin Port for further berthing trials before entering service alongside Stena Adventurer.

The decision by Stena to concentrate all operations in Dublin Port follows the company's announcement earlier this month to axe the loss making Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route. The historic link had been served by the Stena HSS high speed sea-service craft, Stena Explorer which began service in 1995.

The debut of Superfast X on the Dublin route will see the ferry boast 10 decks. Among the fitted-out facilities on her passenger decks are a premium lounge, several dining options, a cinema and in the family lounge, X-Box stations for entertainment.

She also has almost 2 kilometres of lane space for vehicles and freight traffic on the core central corridor route. Freight drivers will have their own dedicated lounge.

The newcomer follows a pair of Superfast sisters VII and VIII which also transformed services when Stena launched in 2011 a new route between Belfast and Cairnryan.

#FerryDryDocking – Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort on Little Island, sold recently by Colliers International to new owners of the scenic River Suir estate located a mile downriver of the city is temporally without it's private car-carrying ferry, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 14 car-capacity ferry, Mary Fitzgerald which otherwise normally brings guests to the 4-star hotel and golf patrons across the picturesque King's Channel to Little Island, is currently in a dry-dock having been taken off-service last weekend.

It is understood the ferry is to resume service at the earliest tomorrow or the following Friday of this week. The ferry's passage to dry-dock last Monday involved heading further downriver as far as the disused railway Barrow Bridge and then upriver to the New Ross Boat Yard.

This same dry-dock is where the JFK Trust began building the famine replica barque Dunbrody. The newbuild when completed was floated-out from the banks of the Co. Kilkenny facility this month 14 years ago in 2001.

It transpires that the hotels previous 18-vehicle ferry Loreley as previously reported on Afloat.ie, had already been replaced in August by the 1972 built former Lough Swilly, Co. Donegal ferry Foyle Rambler.

This was the actual ferry that was as advertised for sale at €700,000, albeit as a separate lot to the luxury 19-bedroom hotel. According to the property agency, the new hotel owners also acquired the ferry. 

She is aptly renamed Mary Fitzgerald after the final member of the Fitzgerald dynasty who were the Kings of Ireland all but in name and who resided in their Norman Keep built over 800 years ago.

As for the brief history of the hotel, the original business opened in 1987 and is as otherwise normally accessed by the private-ferry. When Mary Fitzgerald returns to service, she will resume the frequently operated 3-minute passage time between Ballinakill on the mainland and Little Island.

Despite a significant upgrade of Mary Fitzgerald for her new southern role, further work is required to include her Azimuthing Schottel engines which generate 508KW in a channel that can have an 8-knot current. Since her debut, cable-wires have been installed like her predecessors to assist in guiding the ferry between the slipways on either side of King's Channel.

In order to comply with a Marine Safety Certificate, all the current work in the dry-dock is subject to the satisfaction of marine survey officials at the Department of Transport.

As previously alluded, it is understood that the ferry is scheduled to return to service at the earliest tomorrow or Friday. This will see her resume the routine yet busy role of shuttling visitors and staff to and from the island resort.

On the northern shore of Little Island is the Queen's Channel which was widened and and made straighter to make easier access for the current commercial shipping route to reach Waterford City quays.

Up to around 1900, it was the Kings Channel that had served this role, however the majority of present-day vessels berth downriver of Waterford City at the Belview terminal on the Co. Kilkenny side of the Suir.