Displaying items by tag: Company closes

11th January 2023

Rathlin Island Ferry Company Closes Down Route to Ballycastle Harbour

The ferry operator which serves Rathlin Island off the Antrim coast has ceased trading due to "financial difficulty".

Rathlin Island Ferry Limited which operates between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle Harbour, in a Directors statement expressed "regret" as it announced that its last sailing (today, 11 January) will depart the mainland at 16.00 GMT.

The company using a fast-craft catamaran and car-ferry, added that an insolvency practitioner has been appointed to place the firm into liquidation.

The six-mile route is where RIFL had operated on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure which Afloat adds awarded a contract to Arklow Marine Services to build a car-ferry. The 6 vehicle ferry, Spirit of Rathlin entered service in 2017.

According to a DFI spokesperson, they were notified on Wednesday that the company was to cease trading with immediate effect.

The closure of RIFL follows strike action by ferry workers over pay and conditions which led to sailings cancelled. In addition weeks of engagement were held between the Department for Infrastructure and the ferry operator about the contract and the company's financial position.

The DFI spokesperson also added that it recognised the importance of the ferry service for the local community.

The Island has a population of around 150 residents.

BBC News NI has more details of the company's closure and response from local politicians.

Published in Ferry

Tagged under

About the Star Sailors League Gold Cup

In 2022, Sailing finally got its own World Cup, according to the promoters of the SSL (STAR SAILORS LEAGUE) Gold Cup.

Like football in 1930 and rugby in 1987, the SSL Gold Cup is designed to crown the best sailing nation of all! The World's Top 56 countries, selected on their SSL Nation ranking, will battle their way through to raise the coveted and only Sailing World Cup trophy.

The SSL is the global inshore sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012, by sailors for sailors. Its main philosophy considers the athletes (not the boats) as the “Stars” and it aims to showcase the annual global sailing championship with its over 15’000 regattas; it determines and celebrates the world leaders in sailing promoting the inshore regattas to the global audience.

The three main components of the SSL Circuit are the SSL Ranking published every Tuesday, updating the position of over 100,000 leading athletes, thus highlighting the world’s top inshore sailors. The SSL Finals taking place every year around November-December, it’s the annual final of the SSL Circuit among the 20/25 best athletes of the ranking, to crown the champion of the season. And the SSL Gold Cup, the ‘ultimate’ championship of the circuit with 56 nations among World Sailing members, to crown the best sailing nation.

In a mechanical sport where the race for technology sometimes gets in the way of the race for glory, the SSL aims for equal competition where the talent of the sailors is at the forefront and the champions become heroes that inspire new generations of sailors.

The SSL is a World Sailing Special Event since 2017.