#StenaHSSroute? – Afloat.ie has recontacted Stena Line if it is to resume Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead summer season service in 2015, given also their 'commercial and operational reasons' for cancelling Christmas sailings on this occasion, writes Jehan Ashmore.

When questioned on the discussions between Stena Line and Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, the ferry firm reiterated that they are currently engaged in on-going discussions with Dun Laoghaire Harbour in relation to the provision of a seasonal fast craft service in 2015.

Since the introduction of HSS fast-craft operations on the Irish Sea in 1996, this is the first time that no sailings will be provided over the festive and early New Year periods. Passengers with bookings or those planning to travel will according to the company "be accommodated on other sailings best suited to their travel requirements". The company operate conventional ferries on the Dublin Port-Holyhead service.

Afloat.ie also inquired if Stena Line are considering an alternative to replace the 1500 passenger /375 car HSS fast-craft Stena Explorer with their smaller 900 passenger /210 car Stena Carisma or another fastcraft option? The ferry operator did not confirm or deny as the response given was simply the same reply as to the first question posed above.

Earlier this year, Stena Line withdrew the Stena Carisma from the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn route on the Kattegat Sea linking Sweden and Denmark. The 2 hour crossing time by fast-craft on the Scandinavian route is similar to the Irish Sea route which takes an additional 10 minutes.

Should a smaller craft be introduced and not the HSS 900, the issue of port infrastructure would seem less likely to require berth linkspan adaptation. 

Unlike the 19,638 tonnes Stena Explorer built by Finnyards in 1996 and as the first of a trio of High Speed Sea-Service (HSS) 1500 sisters commissioned, the 'Carisma' was the only HSS 900 class craft completed for the Swedish owned ferry giant.

The 8,631 tonnes HSS 900 was built by the Westamarine Byggs yard in Norway. Work did take place on a sister however this ceased having only achieved 30% of construction.

The absence of the HSS Stena Explorer leaves only rivals Irish Ferries currently operating fast-craft services on the central corridor Dublin-Holyhead route served by Jonathan Swift. The 800 passenger/ 200 car Austal built fast-craft is similar to the passenger and vehicle capacity of Stena's Carisma.

As previously reported, Irish Ferries announced they are to boost capacity by bringing ro-pax Isle of Inishmore onto the Dublin-Holyhead route, which in addition to Jonathan Swift is served by flagship Ulysses and ro-pax Epsilon.

The chartered Epsilon also runs a Dublin-Cherbourg service but only by sailing a round-trip at weekends.

#ManxWinterSchedule – Isle of Man Steam Packet's winter season sailing schedule started earlier this month.

The winter schedule sees ro-pax Ben-my-Chree operate two Heysham services daily from Monday to Friday, with Saturdays and Sundays involving one Heysham and one Liverpool (Birkenhead) sailing on each day, as she has done in recent years.

Ben-my-Chree will operate throughout the winter on this schedule, and she also has two return services to Dublin planned for Christmas, sailing to the Irish capital on the evenings of December 20th and December 27th, returning to Douglas overnight in both instances.

The fast-craft ferry Manannan will return to service on Thursday, March 26th for the 2015 summer season.

Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: 'Following the technical difficulties suffered by Manannan this summer, the repairs were completed in late September and she has been performing well since then.

'Despite having to reschedule sailings, 2014 has been a successful year in terms of passenger numbers and having opened our 2015 bookings on October 1st, early figures are very encouraging, suggesting we are on course for another successful year for passenger numbers.'

While she is in dry dock during the winter, Manannan will undergo her regular annual maintenance and overhaul.

As for the Ben-My-Chree, her next statutory dry-docking for her biennial overhaul is not due until April 2016.

#EpsilonEconomics – Irish Ferries introduction of ro-pax Epsilon almost a year ago has led to a rise in overall fuel costs as previously reported on Afloat.ie, however in general she has been financially rewarding, writes Jehan Ashmore.

According to Ships Monthly, the chartered Italian-flagged ro-pax has contributed to a positive recovery in Irish Ferries core ro-ro and car markets as indicated for results for the first half of the 2014-15 financial year, to 23 August. There has been a 20% rise in the ro-ro freight sector and 8% was achieved in passenger cars.

Epsilon's ro-pax design enables a large freight capacity to be handled while still carrying passengers. The 26,375 tonnes vessel was launched in 20011 from the yard of Visentini, a shipyard close to Venice. She offers an economy service and limited facilities.

The ro-pax was first pressed into Irish Sea service providing additional capacity on the Dublin-Holyhead route during weekdays.

In addition to Welsh route duties, she launched in January this year a new direct Ireland-France service where at weekends she makes a round trip to the continent linking the Irish capital and Cherbourg in Normandy.

To read more about Epsilon's two-route role click the following link of Afloat.ie interview with her master and accompanying photographs including the ferry during a passage on the Dublin-Cherbourg route.

In another interview published in Ships Monthly (January 2015) the Epsilon is depicted in a photo of the ro-pax following an overnight sailing from Dublin when arriving within the harbour of Cherbourg.

#CapacityBoost - Irish Ferries have announced that they are to transfer Isle of Inishmore from the southern Irish Sea to the Holyhead-Dublin route to ensure there is plenty of capacity to and from Ireland this Christmas.

Afloat.ie adds that this will be the second successive festive season that the Pembrokeshire port serving ferry is to be repositioned onto the busy core central Irish Sea route between Wales and the Irish capital.

"Up to six million people living in Britain have Irish grandparents or even closer connections, so it's no wonder that Christmas is our busiest time of year," says the carrier's head of passenger sales Dermot Merrigan.

The operator's flagship Ulysses at 50,938 tonnes the largest ferry on the Irish Sea, operates the last sailing from Holyhead to Dublin on Christmas Eve at 14.10hrs.

On the last sailing from Pembroke to Rosslare, the Oscar Wilde's departure at 08.45 is on Wednesday 24 December.

There are no sailings on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and the first UK-bound ferry is the 08.05 sailing from Dublin on Saturday 27 December, followed by five more sailings during the course of the day.

#CancelledHSSsailings- The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company have responded to Stena Line's announcement that they will not operate the HSS Holyhead-Dublin service as previously reported on Afloat.ie over Christmas 2014 and New Year periods.

It has been the practice of the ferry company to run a limited sailing service on this route at Christmas. Stena has cited 'commercial and operational reasons' for its decision not to operate the service on this occasion.

DLHC is actively engaged in discussions with Stena Line in respect of a seasonal service from 2015. In addition to these discussions, the port company is also heavily focused on building the volume of cruise calls for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and beyond.

As a core member of the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group, the Harbour Company has been actively and successfully marketing the cruise potential of the historic 200 year old leisure harbour. It is estimated that Dun Laoghaire will attract in the region of 100,000 cruise passengers and crew next year, with similar numbers already expected for 2016 and 2017.

A planning application under the Strategic Infrastructure Development Act for a new cruise berth for 'next generation' cruise ship is expected to be submitted in the coming weeks to An Bord Pleanala.

According to Gerry Dunne, CEO of DLHC: "While it is regrettable that the HSS won't be sailing out of Dun Laoghaire this Christmas, we look forward to a continued relationship with Stena in 2015 and beyond.

We also look forward to fully exploiting the potential of the harbour as a world-class destination for cruise calls. These developments will have very positive implications for the town of Dun Laoghaire, and the wider hinterland."

#CancelledHSSsailings – Stena Line have cancelled HSS fast-craft Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead sailings over the Christmas and New Year periods, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The decision to withdraw the scheduled sailings is only a month before the busy festive season from when sailings were due to start on 20 December and run up to early January 2015.

In response to Afloat.ie a statement was issued on behalf of Stena Line "In recent years Stena Line has deployed the HSS for a few days over the Christmas holiday period on its Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire service. For commercial and operational reasons the company has decided not to reactivate the vessel this year for the short Christmas holiday period. Customers who have already booked on the service will be accommodated on other sailings best suited to their travel requirements."

The statement added "Stena Line is currently engaged in ongoing discussions with Dun Laoghaire Harbour in relation to the provision of a seasonal fast craft service in 2015."

There has been widespread speculation in recent years over the future of the HSS service and that of the loss-making route. In addition the fast-craft which is expensive to run has for the last four years operated to a summer-only service between April to September.

This latest development of cancelled Dun Laoghaire route sailings over the festive season follows a previous report on Afloat.ie regarding Stena Line's route from neighbouring Dublin Port. A contractor to Stena Line, that is converting the ro-pax Stena Superfast X stated that she is to be deployed on the Dublin-Holyhead route in January 2015.

Stena Line confirmed their position as to the route deployment of the Stena Superfast X in which she will either be used within their network or that she may be chartered to a third party operator.

#TT2015sailings – Provisional bookings for motorcycles traveling on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for TT2015 are according to the ferry operator more than 5% higher than compared for this year's event.

The decision to operate additional sailings and provide additional vehicle deck space on fast craft Manannan has contributed to this increase, helping to ensure more people can experience the action and atmosphere.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Steam Packet in October confirmed it had again chartered P&O Express, which has allowed extra Larne sailings and freed up Manannan to operate more Liverpool services during the 2015 TT.

The charter of MV Arrow, to provide freight support, has been pivotal in ensuring additional passenger vehicle space is available on Ben-my-Chree during the festival.

In July, the ferry firm announced a substantial investment in the fabrication of a mezzanine deck for Manannan. The deck will be in place for both the TT and Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling next year to allow more people to bring motorcycles to the events. There was huge demand when bookings for these additional spaces opened in July, and many peak days have now sold out.

With forward motorcycle bookings already up by 5%, early indications are that the 2015 TT will be even busier than this year's event, which was the busiest for ferry passengers since the Centenary TT in 2007.

There was a 7.5% increase in motorcycles carried, to 12,050, and total passenger numbers rose to 36,800.

The Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling also experienced further growth in 2014, with the Steam Packet Company carrying 11% more motorcycles than in 2013, taking the total to almost 3,697.

Passenger figures rose to 29,460, the highest recorded during the fortnight for more than a decade. With early demand looking healthy, and the provision of additional space for motorcycles thanks to the new Manannan mezzanine deck, it is expected the event's popularity will continue to grow.

#CalMacNewbuild - The newest Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) carferry, MV Loch Seaforth last week was paid a visit by Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown MSP.

The new ferry fresh from German shipbuilders had arrived in Scottish waters only days before the visit and she joins the CalMac fleet which includes Isle of Aran.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Isle of Aran had operated the summer-only Campbeltown (Mull of Kintyre)-Ardrossan route which has been extended for a third season in 2015.

Mr Brown met the Master and crew and had a short private tour of the £41.8m newbuild which was built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FGS), while berthed in Inchgreen dry dock, Port Glasgow.

Mr Brown said: "I was delighted to get a chance to see the new MV Loch Seaforth up close and get a taste of what her passengers have to look forward to. The sight of the largest vessel in the CalMac fleet coming down the Clyde last week was a welcome one, and whilst some cosmetic work still has to be done to the interior of the ship, we are another step closer to seeing her enter service.

"The MV Loch Seaforth will offer passengers on the Stornoway-Ullapool route a faster, quieter and more reliable service and has been designed to accommodate a growth in travellers on the route.I look forward to the MV Loch Seaforth offering an improved service for the Western Isles, alongside the planned harbour upgrades at Stornoway and Ullapool."

There are a number of activities planned for her prior to entering service, including completing work on the passenger areas, addressing some outstanding technical matters from build, further Class & MCA inspections and carrying out sea trials and crew familiarisation exercises.

Martin Dorchester, Managing Director of CalMac, said: "Bringing the MV Loch Seaforth back to Scotland from the yard in Germany where she was built was an important milestone and once we are fully satisfied that everything is in order, and subject to the completion of the Stornoway Harbour works, will be making arrangements to take her to the Western Isles and, in due course, bring her into service on the Stornoway-Ullapool route."

#ICGresultsQ3- A revenue rise of 10.3% for Irish Continental Group (parent company of Irish Ferries) was achieved in the three months to the end of September, while operating profit increased to €23.8 million on the back of increased passenger numbers.

An interim management statement from the firm showed revenue rose to €93.4 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) rose to €28.1 million, compared with €26.9 million in the same quarter in 2013.

Fuel costs in the quarter were €14.3 million, up from €12.7 million during the same period in 2013, due to the additional sailings of the ro-pax Epsilon.

For further details see yesterday's Irish Times report by clicking here.

#Island&FerrySale – The luxury Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort on Little Island in Waterford Estuary, as previously reported is for sale, however this does not include the cable-ferry Loreley, which is to be sold separately, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Colliers International is seeking in excess of €4.5m for the secluded resort on the River Suir which also includes 48 self-catering garden lodges and clubhouse on the 310-acre island a mile downriver of Waterford City.

The property on Little Island is reached by the private 12-car capacity Loreley which is to be sold for €700,000. She operates between Grantstown and Little Island otherwise known locally as 'The Island'.

Asides this ferry, further downriver is another service, Passage East-Ballyhack in Co. Wexford. Arguably the Little Island ferry is the least known of operations to run on Irish estuaries and across rivers.

The service to Little Island takes a mere three-minute hop across King's Channel, a narrow disused shipping lane along the south side of the island. The other main channel is mostly used by yachts and visiting vessels to Waterford Marina, naval ships and cruiseships while commercial shipping is centred on Belview, a downriver terminal for the Port of Waterford along the banks of Co. Kilkenny.

Last year there was a dispute between the hotel owner and ferry contractor as reported on Afloat.ie over the running of the 1959 German built ferry that operates a round-the-clock service. For another closer-up photo of the ferry published in Ships Monthly, click HERE.

Loreley carries 57 passengers including foot-users, though the vast majority of traffic visiting the hotel and resort is taken is up by vehicles of the 12 car capacity deck. For ease of operations she has double-ended ramps.

It is understood that the first custom built vehicle-carrying ferry to ply the narrow channel was Verolme Cork Dockyard built ferry, Strongbow completed in 1968 and entered service the following year.

She was replaced by a ferry from Scandinavia, a 6-car carrying 24 passenger vessel renamed Little Island Ferry, however she too was displaced by a another Nordic ferry, Elvera, a former Swedish lake-ferry. She was introduced on the Waterford Estuary in 1999. Both she and her predecessors were chain-operated ferries.

The current 110 tonnes ferry originally named Loreley V, served as a River Rhine ferry between St. Goarshausen and St. Goar. She was sold to the Irish hotel and introduced in 2008. Unlike the previous chain-ferries, she is a self-propelled ferry which uses cable-wires to guide her across the river.

According to the Irish Times article, it was suggested that new owners of the property consider the feasibility of providing a bridge across the channel given much cheaper construction procedures have been devised.