#CruiseRescheduled – A Round-the-Island cruise of the Isle of Man planned for today has been rescheduled to the end of April.

Despite the clocks changing to mark summertime, the unfavourable weather conditions have led to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company to instead set a new date for the cruise which is on Sunday, April 26th, departing Douglas at 11:30.

All passengers booked on the excursion will be automatically transferred and new tickets will be sent out. Full refunds will be given to those who cannot make the new date.

Commenting on the rescheduling, the company's Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: 'There are some choppy conditions forecast for this weekend, and potentially poor visibility during parts of the cruise, which may restrict views".

"While all of our other services are expected to run as scheduled this weekend, we felt that the forecast wouldn't make for an enjoyable round-the-Island experience for passengers and have therefore rescheduled to allow the trip to be completed in more favourable weather conditions."

All bookings will be automatically transferred or refunds are available on request. Tickets for the new date, cost £24 for adults and £12 for children (15 and under).

To make a booking, visit the Ferry Travel Shop, Sea Terminal, Douglas or call Reservations Team on 661661.

#LiberationLaunch – The countdown is finally over as Condor Ferries launched state-of-the-art fast ferry, Condor Liberation with the first official sailing yesterday from Poole to the Channel Islands.

The 880 passenger car-carrying trimaran had called to Guernsey (St.Peter Port) and Jersey (St. Helier). In addition the maiden voyage was an opportunity to reveal the company's new branding of a livery scheme sporting new colours as she headed out of Poole Harbour, Dorset.

Amid much fanfare the 102m fast-ferry set sail on her inaugural sailing, where local schoolchildren and ferry enthusiasts joined the Mayor of Poole, Councillor Peter Adams at Baiter Park to watch the newcomer depart across Poole Harbour, past Brownsea Island and Sandbanks Peninsula.

Representing £50 million investment, Condor Liberation is the first of her kind in Northern Europe, and marks a new era in sea travel. The Austal 2010 built craft trimaran (three hull) design offers greater stability and better sea-keeping abilities, providing a smoother ride for passengers.

Commenting on the maiden voyage, Alicia Andrews, Executive Director – Commercial at Condor Ferries, said: "Today marked a very important milestone in the history of Condor Ferries. We are very excited to welcome Condor Liberation into service and delighted to see the huge crowd gathered at Baiter Park to help us celebrate this momentous occasion".

Since her 10,500 nautical mile delivery voyage into Poole on Boxing Day as previously reported on Afloat.ie, Condor Liberation has undergone an extensive customisation programme. This has involved installing a new Duty Free shop, children's play area, a range of eating and drinking outlets plus a choice of three new seating lounges, to include two upgrade areas.

For a video of Condor Liberation on berthing trials, click here to see the trimaran approaching Jersey's St. Helier Harbour.

The Channel Islands operator now in their 51st year also have another fast-ferry, the InCat 86m built, Condor Rapide that serves the Guernsey to France route, using the Breton port of St. Malo.

In addition to running Commodore Clipper, a conventional car, passenger and freight carrying vessel that offers an all-weather, year round Portsmouth to Guernsey and Jersey service.

Afloat.ie adds that the 500 passenger / 100 car/ 92-trailer ferry is fresh from refit. She had completed a 10-day call at A&P Falmouth from where she returned to service only last weekend.

In addition to all the publicity centred on the Condor Liberation, Afloat will later also be focusing on the role of Commodore Clipper.

Since the introduction of Commodore Clipper in 1999, the ferry has brought countless holiday makers to the Channel Islands. Plus the ferry serves as an integral lifeline for residents on the Channel Islands and the link to mainland UK.

#NewTourismPolicy - The Government's new tourism policy, 'People, Place and Policy: Growing Tourism to 2025' was launched by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe along with An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny at Kilkenny Castle today.

The new Policy Statement sets out a range of objectives and aims to grow tourism over the next decade so that, by 2025, revenue from 10 million overseas visits will increase to €5 billion, enabling employment in the sector to rise to 250,000.

The policy follows recent CSO figures as previously reported on Afloat.ie that revealed in 2014, €3.5 billion was spent by overseas visitors in Ireland.

Speaking at today's launch, Minister Donohoe said: 'After a significant decline in the period 2008 to 2010, we have witnessed four years of successive growth in our overseas visit numbers. We want to ensure this positive momentum is maintained in the longer term to benefit not just those directly involved in tourism but also the economy as a whole'.

"'People, Place and Policy – Growing Tourism to 2025' represents a fundamental examination, and a clear statement, of what we want to achieve for Irish tourism in the coming decade. It sets out ambitious targets for growth in overseas visits and associated revenue, and increased tourism employment."

Headline Goals of the Tourism Policy Statement

The Tourism Policy Statement has three headline targets, to be achieved by 2025:

Revenue from overseas tourism, in real terms and excluding air fares and ferry charges, will grow to €5 billion per year in 2025 from €3.5 billion in 2014;
250,000 people will be employed in tourism, compared with an estimated 200,000 at present; and
We will see 10 million overseas visits to Ireland, compared to 7.6 million in 2014.

Framework and key policy objectives: People, Place and Policy

The Tourism Policy Statement's guiding principle is to set out Government policies to enable Ireland's key attractions of People and Place to combine effectively to maximise the economic, social, and environmental benefits of tourism. The Statement includes policies on:-

• Visitor Revenue Rather than Visit Numbers

The Policy Statement shifts from a previous focus on simply growing the numbers of trips to Ireland by overseas visitors to increasing the economic contribution of overseas visits. This is measured by CSO surveys of expenditure within Ireland by overseas visitors. While the domestic tourism market will continue to play a significant complementary part, supporting tourism enterprises at times and places where overseas visits are fewer, the primary focus of the Statement is in growing overseas revenue and ultimately exports.

• Tourism Marketing

Overseas marketing will be targeted across a range of countries and market segments, focusing on the highest revenue potential while avoiding being too vulnerable to downturns in a few markets.

• Continued Key Role in Tourism for Festivals and Events

A new policy objective is that support for events will be weighted towards those that offset the seasonal nature of tourism as well as, in line with the overall aims, those with greatest overseas tourism potential. The appropriate use of themed years, including a possible repeat of the Gathering, will be pursued further when drawing up the Tourism Action Plan (see below).

• Training and Skills Development in Tourism
State support for training and career development in the tourism sector will aim to ensure the industry can meet the needs of future visitors and enable those working in the sector to achieve their potential.

• Competitiveness in Tourism

The Statement reiterates the critical importance of competitiveness, in terms of quality, value and cost. In line with previous Budget statements, it reaffirms that the maintenance of the 9% VAT rate in the tourism sector will depend on the sector ensuring that it remains cost-competitive.

• The Role of Communities and Local Authorities

The Policy sets out the vital role of local communities in developing and delivering quality tourism experiences. Local Authorities will have a key role in leading and supporting communities in tourism, as they already do, but this is now recognised at policy level. At the same time, the particular strengths of local authorities in developing tourism, within their overall economic development role, are recognised and reaffirmed.

• Whole of Government Approach

The Policy also reaffirms the vital role of Government in supporting tourism across policy areas and Departments, including taxation, environment, and enterprise policy. It commits to a whole-of-government approach to ensure the ambitious targets are met.

Commenting on how the Policy Statement will be implemented, Minister Donohoe stated: 'In the coming weeks I will be announcing the membership of a Tourism Leadership Group, which will oversee the creation of an initial three-year Tourism Action Plan for 2015-2018, to draw up the medium-term actions necessary to achieve the long-term aims in the Tourism Policy Statement.

The many submissions received during the formulation of 'People, Place and Policy' will again be examined during the Action Plan stage to see if there are specific actions which should be implemented. If the industry, stakeholders or indeed anybody with an interest in Irish tourism wishes to suggest additional actions, these can be sent directly to my Department for consideration'.

"I believe the Policy Statement launched today provides the foundations for a prosperous and sustainable tourism sector over the next decade. While the targets we have set are ambitious, I have no doubt that by working together, we will achieve them."

#ManxCruise – Manannan, the Isle of Man Steam Packet's fast-ferry catamaran is this year taking the honour of making the annual Round Island Cruise instead of ro-pax, Ben-My-Chree, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The cruise around the scenic island will be a 'Lap' as this is scheduled to take only around two hours. The 96m Incat craft departs from the Manx capital, Douglas on 29 March, with a morning departure of 11.00am.

Normally, the Steam-Packet organise two island cruises provided by each vessel for those wishing to see the spectacular coast seen from a sea based perspective. This time, Manannan will be taking the cruise. This leaves Ben-My-Chree to maintain routine duties on the main year round Douglas-Heysham route. 

As for the Manannan's routine duties, they are scheduled to take place just days before the cruise when the 820 passenger /200-car craft resumes a summer-season Douglas-Liverpool link on 26 March.

Crossings on this England-Isle of Man route by the 43-knot craft are timed to takes 2 hour 40 minutes. In addition, Manannan will be deployed on the seasonal Douglas routes to Belfast and Dublin.

In advance of the season, Manannan starts off with Easter sailings, when tasked to carry out a round trip Douglas-Dublin sailings on 1 April before the bank holiday and afterwards.

Two days later, Manannan will make a round trip on the Douglas-Belfast with sailings on 3 April closer to the Easter period. Likewise a return leg will be made after the holiday period.

#P&Oferries – Lysblink Seaways under repair in Greenock, Scotland as previously reported on Afloat, is where by coincidence DFDS Seaways operate a container service to Liverpool and from where they have chartered a freight-ferry to P&O Ferries, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Firstly is the charter by DFDS Logistics Rederi AS of Lysblink Seaways to Sea-Cargo based in Bergen.

The starboard side-loading paper products carrier was due to have called to Skogn, in Norway last month from Belfast but instead the 129m long vessel went aground on the west Scottish coast.

She was re-floated and towed to the Clyde where she entered Garvel Clyde's James Watt Dock at Inchgreen.

While on the Irish Sea, the freight-only Anglia Seaways charter from DFDS to serve P&O Ferries Dublin-Liverpool route had only begun earlier this week having called to Merseyside last weekend from The Netherlands.

Anglia Seaways is covering the roster of P&O's ro-pax Norbank which is in dry dock at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. Also maintaining the Ireland-England central Irish Sea route is sister Norbay and larger ro-pax European Endeavour which also carries motorist cars and freight vehicles.

The Danish flagged 120-trailer Anglia Seaways is otherwise understood to normally operate on the North Sea, running Rotterdam-Immingham on the UK's east coast. It is from Anglia where she originally began a career with Norfolkline (a Maersk subsidiary) but running from Felixstowe firstly as the Maersk Anglia.

It's almost full circle with Anglia Seaways presence on the Irish Sea, as she has served on several routes, the most recent a charter to Seatruck Ferries on the Warrenpoint-Heysham route until last year.

More apt was the role she played for DFDS Seaways when the Danish shipping giant's acquisition of Norfolkline Irish Sea operations in 2010.

The involved a network of routes that would be later sold to Stena Line, except for the Dublin-Birkenhead service in which Anglia Seaways served until January 2011.

This marked the final trace of the short-lived DFDS freight and 'passenger' operations that Stena would eventually swallow up to further consolidate as the dominant player on the Irish Sea.

For a more in-depth coverage of this period in the Irish Sea ferry industry (including a photo of Anglia Seaways) while still sporting the distinctive pale blue corporate Maersk hull colour. 

Also seen at Dublin Port was the ro-pax Liverpool Seaways, which would head off for a career with DFDS on the Baltic Sea.

#BrittanyBegins – Brittany Ferries first Cork-Roscoff season sailing for 2015 took place today as the flagship Pont-Aven departed Irish shores on the Cork-Roscoff service, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Pont-Aven is the French operator's custom-built 41,748 tonnes cruiseferry that features luxury cabins with balconies. The 2,400 passenger /650 cabin vessel also boasts an indoor swimming pool, the only ferry to have this unique facility serving in Irish waters.

This year will be the 36th season of Brittany Ferries on the direct Ireland-France link that was begun by Breton based operator Bretagne-Angleterre Irlande (B.A.I) otherwise known as Brittany Ferries. Since then over the decades the company has continued to grow the service with a range of stylish ferries on the 14-hour route between Munster and Brittany. In addition to running a network of cruiseferry-style services on UK-France routes and services also linking the UK and northern Spain. 

It is only since last year that Brittany Ferries have introduced their no frills  'économie' marketed UK sailings on the Portsmouth-Le Havre and Portsmouth-Bilbao routes. This allows passengers to have an option to travel on services with fewer on board amenties while offered at lower-fares.  

Due to passenger demand and no doubt competition from former rivals, LD Lines who subsequently closed all their routes last year, Brittany Ferries have responded.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the company are to launch a second ship to join Etretat when the no frills concept service is boosted by the launch in May of chartered ro-pax Baie de Seine.

#DryDockings - Belfast-Cairnryan sailings covered by Stena Nordica, as previously reported will remain to the end of this month, when North Channel Superfast sisters VII and VIII each take turns to dry-dock, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Following the overhauls taken place in Harland & Wolff, Nordica, recently replaced by Dublin-Holyhead newcomer Superfast X will be chartered to DFDS Seaways to take up service on the premier Dover-Calais route.

Before she heads south, the name Stena 'Nordica' also applied to a previous ferry in the late 1960's that Stena chartered to Sealink /British Rail's Larne-Stranraer route. This charter ended almost 44 years ago on the 27 March 1971 when a new vehicle car ramp was installed at Stranraer.

It is somewhat full circle given that the Swedish ferry giant is very much a player on the present day Belfast-Cairnryan service having switched Scottish port to a new custom built terminal at Loch Ryan Port in 2011. 

The ro-pax Nordica with capacity for 405 passengers has vehicle deck space for 375 cars / 122 trailers, was originally with P&O Ferries running on the Irish Sea as well as a weekend operated Dublin-Cherbourg service. She had spells in Scandinavia for Stena before returning to the Irish Sea to partner Stena Adventurer on the Dublin route. 

On this new career, she is to partner Calais Seaways to boost much needed capacity on the premier short-sea service. The newcomer will follow the route's previous second ship, Dieppe Seaways, (now Superfast X) which Stena had also chartered to DFDS until a two-year charter expired last year.

Calais Seaways is the stalwart of Strait of Dover. Originally she served Dover-Ostend service when launched as Prins Filip, the flagship of Belgian state operator RTM back in 1991.

#TheEasterFerries – Ferries are gearing up in advance of the busy Easter break with vessels dry-docking or leaving their hibernation berths ready for Spring service and throughout the season, writes Jehan Ashmore.

On the North Channel, P&O Ferries seasonal fast-craft Express had departed her winter lay-up in Belfast Port yesterday to undertake a passage to Scotland.

This took the 91m Incat craft to Cairnryan, to where P&O Ferries operate year-round services by conventional ro-pax ferries to and from the route to Larne. It is from the Co. Antrim ferryport, that Express is to start operating in just over a fortnight on the seasonal Larne-Troon route with 2 hour 15 minute crossings beginning on 31 March.

Also on the North Channel, the Belfast-Cairnryan route is where Stena Nordica is operating despite her repositioning voyage from Holyhead to Belfast, as previously reported.

It transpires following her direct replacement on the Wales-Dublin Port route by newcomer Stena Superfast X, the smaller ro-pax is to continue in company service before heading for a new career on the Strait of Dover. 

She is serving on the Northern Ireland-Scotland route so to cover Belfast-Cairnryan route Superfast sisters as they take turns to go for overhaul. In which Stena Superfast VII is currently in Harland & Wolf's Belfast dry-dock.

This leaves Stena Superfast VIII running alongside the stand-in 'Nordica' which is the same name of an older ferry that was mentioned by Dan Sten Olsson during his speech of the launch of the Dublin-Holyhead Superfast X last week.

The chairman of Stena referred to the former Stena Nordica as the Swedish company's first ferry to operate on the Irish Sea. The ferry was then in a chartered capacity during service in 1971 on the old Larne-Stranraer route.

In the context of the short sea-route link between these islands, the current Stena Nordica is to start a new career on the Dover-Calais route while under charter to DFDS Seaways. By coincidence, Stena Superfast X had operated for the Danish operator also on the same route while under charter from Stena as Dieppe Seaways.

#IrelandWalesLinks – Ireland-Wales sea links between these two Celtic nations, who play each other today in the RBS Six Nations encounter, are not exclusively all ferry-based which included this week's debut of Superfast X, as Jehan Ashmore explains.

Asides the Cardiff registered Stena Superfast X that was launched on the Dublin-Holyhead route also served by rivals Irish Ferries, both operators run routes from Rosslare to south Wales ports, Stena to Fishguard and Irish Ferries to Pembroke. This leaves three routes to transport passengers and carry freight, following the demise of the Stena HSS from Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead that closed last September.

So where does this none-ferry yet commercial route fit into this Ireland-Wales equation? The answer is a container route which is the only such scheduled service connecting the Celtic capitals. That unique service is provided by Cardiff Container Lines whose Coronel (see photo above) calls to Dublin Port yet runs to a triangular route network as the vessel also docks in the Co. Down port of Warrenpoint on Carlingford Lough.

It is apt that on today's rugby game where 'Ireland's Call' will be song in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, that down in the capital's port is where Coronel is berthed (at time of writing) having arrived yesterday from Warrenpoint. She is due to arrive in Dublin Port tomorrow morning. 

The 195 (TEU) container capacity vessel's Lo/Lo operations are carried out at the Port of Cardiff's container terminal on Queen Alexandra Dock. Whereas in Dublin Port, Coronel built in 1978 is catered for within either Alexandra Basin east or west (as seen departing from) in this file photo when bound for Cardiff.

Cardiff port is accessed via the lockgate into Cardiff Bay and the Severn Estuary and is where the 1978 built Coronel acts as a 'feeder' ship for CCL. As the operator in association with Borchard Lines provides a weekly Cardiff-Mediterranean Sea 'liner' service on their West Coast UK service.

The Borchard Lines service calls to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Greece and extends further east in the Mediterranean to ports in Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.

#SuperfastXLaunch – Stena Line Chairman Dan Sten Olsson alongside broadcast personality Kathryn Thomas, the ferry Godmother of Stena Superfast X (pronounced 10) named the Dublin-Holyhead route's new ferry yesterday, writes Jehan Ashmore.

More than 170 guests attended the official launch ceremony in Dublin Port where Kathryn and the chairman jointly pressed a red button to unveil a nameplate in the Stena Plus Lounge. 

The Dublin Welsh Male Voice Choir aptly sang 'Ireland's Call' given Stena Superfast X's launch on the core Irish Sea route and forthcoming RBS 6 Nations fixture between Ireland and Wales to be held in Cardiff, incidentally the Welsh capital is where the 30,285 tonnes ferry is registered.

Stena Superfast X was berthed at Dublin Port's Ferry Terminal 2 from where the double-tier ro-ro linkspan has already been in use in recent days as the newcomer entered service. The 1,200 passenger/ 480 car and freight capacity ferry has almost 2 kms of lane decks and this will significantly assist in boosting the important economic recovery of Irish-UK trade.  

The introduction of the 30,285 tonnes ferry expands the services of the all year round Dublin-Holyhead service, one of the key tourism and freight 'gateways' between Ireland and Britain.

Dan Sten Olsson, Chairman of Stena Line said: "Trade and tourism links between Britain and Ireland have been growing steadily in recent years and with improving economic conditions forecast for 2015 and beyond, as the leading ferry operator on the Irish Sea we are confident in our ability to help stimulate this upward trend further. That's why we have invested in providing increased capacity on this route with the introduction of Stena Superfast X, a ship which is perfectly appointed to accommodate the mix of freight and tourism traffic which is required to develop the important Dublin-Holyhead gateway in the years ahead.

Mr Olsson added: "The Irish Sea is at the core of Stena Line's business which is why we have invested more than £250m in our Irish Sea routes during the last 5 years alone. Last year we added the Rosslare-Cherbourg service to our route network which has given our customers a key link between Ireland and the Continent. Industry reports point to an expected 6% increase in holiday visitors in 2015, building on the 8% increase in 2014. Stena Line recognises the importance of tourism as a key economic driver for the Irish economy. We are committed to doing all we can to provide more and more compelling reasons to travel by ferry and what better customer experience is there on the route than the new Stena Superfast X."

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the 206m long ferry had recently underwent a comprehensive three-month refit and upgrade programme in Gdynia, Poland, to prepare her for service on the Dublin-Holyhead route.

The delivery voyage to her homeport of Holyhead as previously reported was under the command of Captain Richard Davies, who was among senior figures from the company at the launch in Dublin Port to showcase Superfast to clients, the travel trade and media. 

Stena Superfast X will make two return sailings daily between Dublin and Holyhead and will operate alongside Stena Adventurer to provide a choice of up 56 Stena sailings each week on the route.