The Ilen is the last of Ireland’s traditional wooden sailing ships.

Who designed the Ilen?

The Ilen was designed by Conor O’Brien, the first Irish man to circumnavigate the world.

Where does the name Ilen get her name?

Ilen is named for the West Cork River which flows to the sea at Baltimore, her home port.

The Ilen was built by Baltimore Sea Fisheries School, West Cork in 1926. Tom Moynihan was foreman.

What is Ilen built from?

Ilen's wood construction is of oak ribs and planks of larch.

What are the dimensions of the lIen?

As-built initially, she is 56 feet in length overall with a beam of 14 feet and a displacement of 45 tonnes.

How did the Ilen get from Baltimore to the Falkland Islands in 1926?

Conor O’Brien set sail in August 1926 with two Cadogan cousins from Cape Clear in West Cork, arriving at Port Stanley in January 1927 and handed it over to the new owners.

How much did the Ilen cost in 1926?

The Ilen was delivered to the Falkland Islands Company, in exchange for £1,500.

What roles has Ilen performed in her lifetime?

Ilen served for over 70 years as a cargo ship and a ferry in the Falkland Islands, enduring and enjoying the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and Screaming Sixties. She stayed in service until the early 1990s.

Who from Ireland rediscovered the Ilen in the Falkland Islands?

Limerick sailor Gary McMahon and his team located Ilen. MacMahon started looking for her in 1996 and went out to the Falklands and struck a deal with the owner to bring her back to Ireland.

What condition was Ilen in when she was found in the Falkland Islands?

After a lifetime of hard work in the Falklands, Ilen required a ground-up rebuild.

How did the Ilen come back to Ireland?

A Russian cargo ship transported her back on a 12,000-mile trip from the Southern Oceans to Dublin. The Ilen was discharged at the Port of Dublin 1997, after an absence from Ireland of 70 years.

Who restored the Ilen?

It was a collaboration between the Ilen Project in Limerick and Hegarty’s Boatyard in Old Court, near Skibbereen. Much of the heavy lifting, of frames, planking, deadwood & backbone, knees, floors, shelves and stringers, deck beams, and carlins, was done in Hegarty’s. The generally lighter work of preparing sole, bulkheads, deck‐houses fixed furniture, fixtures & fittings, deck fittings, machinery, systems, tanks, spar making and rigging is being done at the Ilen boat building school in Limerick.

How long did it take to restore Ilen?

Ten years. The boat was much the worse for wear when it returned to West Cork in May 1998, and it remained dormant for ten years before the start of a decade-long restoration.

What is the role of the Ilen today?

Ilen now serves as a community floating classroom and cargo vessel – visiting 23 ports in 2019 and making a transatlantic crossing to Greenland as part of a relationship-building project to link youth in Limerick City with youth in Nuuk, west Greenland.

What is so good about Ilen’s relatively small size as a sailing cargo ship?

At a mere 56ft, Ilen is capable of visiting most of the small harbours of Ireland.

Displaying items by tag: Increase Capacity

27th September 2021

'E-Flexer' Class Ferries to Join Stena Line’s Baltic Sea Fleet Next Year

At just shy of 240-meters each in length, two 'E-Flexer' (MkII) ro-pax class ferries designed in collaboration with Stena RoRo and under construction at the CMI Jinling Shipyard in Weihai, China, are expected to be delivered to the Baltic Sea during 2022. The newbuilds are larger versions of their Irish Sea counterparts currently serving between Belfast-Birkenhead (Liverpool) and Dublin-Holyhead.

Stena Line which operates three of their 'E-Flexer' ro-pax class ferries on the Irish Sea, is to continue its expansion on the Baltic Sea during 2022, increasing both freight-and passenger capacity with larger versions of the new class.

The Swedish family-owned ferry company today announced that they will deploy their two new 240-meter-long fuel-efficient E-Flexer* ferries, on the Nynäshamn (Sweden)-Ventspils (Latvia) next year.

Stena Line also announced plans to increase the capacity on the Karlskrona (Sweden)-Gdynia (Poland) route with the deployment of the two large and modern ferries Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica. This pair, Afloat adds were formerly operating on the Irish Sea on their Belfast-Birkenhead (Liverpool) route until replaced by two E-Flexers and following introduction of class leadship Stena Estrid on the Dublin-Holyhead route in 2020.

Over the past year, Stena Line has expanded in the Baltic Sea, increasing both freight and passenger capacity, to cater for increasing demand of sea transportation in the region. This year Stena Line have already introduced new large and modern ferries on both of their two Latvian routes Nynäshamn-Ventspils and Travemünde (Germany)-Liepaja (Latvia).

Today, the ferry company announced that their expansion on the Baltic Sea will continue during 2022. Next year Stena Line will deploy their two new 240-meter-long fuel-efficient E-Flexer* ferries on the Nynäshamn -Ventspils route. The ferries will have a capacity for 1,200 passengers, an increase of 33% compared to existing ferries, and a total of 3,600 meters of freight lane meters, an increase of 25%.

“We continue growing together with our customers by strengthen our position and fleet across the Baltic Sea. Demand for capacity in the region keeps increasing as freight customers continue to expand and travel passengers choose ferry travel as their preferred safe form of transport in the wake of the pandemic. These large, modern, and fuel-efficient next generation ferries are the flag ships in the modernisation of our fleet as well as our development of sustainable shipping” says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line Group.

Up to 30 % more energy efficient

Stena Line’s position as the leader in sustainable shipping is clearly visible and the new vessels are among the most energy efficient RoPax ferries in the world. The E-Flexer ferries are up to 30 % more energy efficient than existing vessels, thanks to optimum design of the hulls, propellers, bulbs, and rudders.

The vessels are delivered gas-ready, to allow conversion to methanol or liquid natural gas fuel. The new ferries will be equipped to use shore power during port calls to reduce emissions and the electricity connection also enables a conversion to battery hybrid in the future. The vessel will offer efficient loading and unloading with drive-through lanes on the two levels.

“Stena Line’s Scandinavian heritage is clearly visible on the interior and the design is spacious and light, with amazing panoramic views. The new vessels will offer our passengers a brand new onboard and travel experience on Ventspils-Nynäshamn, the shortest route between the Baltics and Scandinavia”, says Johan Edelman”, Trade Director Baltic Sea North, Stena Line.

Capacity increase on Karlskrona (Sweden)-Gdynia (Poland).

Stena Line today also announce their plans to increase the capacity on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route further during 2022 with the deployment of the two large and modern 222-meter RoPax ferries Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica. The two Visentini vessels has recently been lengthened and modernised and will add 30 % freight capacity and a brand new modern onboard experience for both drivers and passengers on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route.

*Ferry facts: E-Flexer ferries

The two 240-meter E-Flexer (MkII) ferries are designed in collaboration with Stena RoRo and is currently being built at the CMI Jinling Shipyard in Weihai, China, with expected delivery during 2022.

Stena Line has previously introduced the three 214-meter E-Flexer ferries Stena Estrid, Stena Edda and Stena Embla on the Irish Sea during 2019-2020. The E-Flexer ferries are among the most energy efficient RoPax ferries in the world, up 30 % more energy efficient than existing vessels, thanks to optimum design of the hulls, propellers, bulbs, and rudders.

Route: Nynäshamn (Sweden) – Ventspils (Latvia)

Names: not yet revealed by Stena Line
Length: 239,7 m
Breadth: 27,8 m
Lane meters: 3,600
Passengers: 1200
Cabins: 263

Published in Stena Line

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Port of Cork Set for Increased Ferry Frequency to France (Plus in 2021 New Route from Rosslare)

Solent Sisters: Brittany Ferries no-frillls (économie) branded ropax Connemara AFLOAT adds served the former Cork-Santander service is to return (or sister Etretat?) to Irish waters when repositioned out of Rosslare Europort in 2021. Following the closure of this Ireland-Spain route the 'Visentini' built ropax was transferred onto the operator's Portsmouth-Santander route and since January 2020 also out of the UK English Channel port (above arriving on the Solent) from the Le Havre link to France.

Ferry operator Brittany Ferries, writes EchoLive, has announced plans to increase services out of both Cork and Rosslare in 2021, despite ongoing uncertainty amid Covid-19.

The Port of Cork will see as Afloat on Saturday reported a new midweek sailing from Cork to Roscoff in addition to the weekend service already in place.

The Armorique vessel will be used for the sailings, which is new to Ireland (albeit see relief duties last year)

The Pont-Aven, one of the company’s (which is the flagship) ferries, will continue to serve the main Cork to Roscoff (seasonal) sailings at the weekend.

This route serves primarily tourists, with an approximate 50-50 split between French and Irish holidaymakers.

The company said: “It will open more choice for those seeking a shorter break in either Ireland or France, with options to leave and return with Brittany Ferries, either mid-week or at the weekend.”

For more plus announcement of a new Rosslare-Cherbourg route also in 2021, click here.

AFLOAT adds Brittany Ferries is to reintroduce ropax Connemara (following this year's closure of Cork-Santander service) back to Irish waters but running out of Rosslare. Afloat however also consulted the operator's website and noted that another 'Visentini' built ropax Etretat (ex. Norman Voyager of former Celtic Link Ferries) is scheduled to operate the 'économie' branded route from November. (It should be noted the schedule was updated today).

Connemara originally launched the Cork-Spain route in 2018 before replaced by yet another Visentini built ropax the Kerry.

Currently, Kerry operates the relocated Ireland-Spain service of Rosslare-Bilbao. In addition to serving Brittany Ferries other second new route out of the Wexford ferryport, the seasonal service to Roscoff which was due to open in March but was delayed due to the initial impact of Covid-19 and related travel restrictions.

Afloat also consulted the Rosslare-Roscoff sailings scheduled for this season up to October (but not listed for 2021). So could it appear the overcapacity by Brittany Ferries themselves be at the expense? of yesterday's official announcement of their newest route of Rosslare-Cherbourg (also seasonal).

As passenger reservations currently available for services up to the end of October (2021) aply to the following routes: Rosslare – Bilbao, Cork – Roscoff and the aformentioned Rosslare – Cherbourg route but excludes any reference to the Wexford-Brittany link.

Published in Ferry

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