Irish Ferries Faces Disruptions on Dublin-Holyhead Route After Terminal Allisions

Irish Ferries faced challenges with their Dublin-Holyhead ferry route after two allisions damaged the terminal earlier this month. As a result, they opened a new route between Dublin and Fishguard. Unfortunately, this new route was also temporarily shut down due to a dock allision on its inaugural voyage. The damage to the Terminal 3 berth in Holyhead forced the port to close until January 15, impacting freight and passenger transport between Wales and Dublin.

To address the bottleneck caused by the port closure, Irish Ferries and Stena Line collaborated with the Welsh government and other ports to find alternative solutions. They reassigned vessels and set up temporary services between Dublin and Fishguard, 90 miles south of Holyhead. However, on Friday, the ferry Isle of Innisfree hit the quay during its first voyage on the new route, causing damage to the starboard bow. Despite this setback, the ferry quickly returned to service and is scheduled for normal departures starting Monday.

The allisions at the terminals have disrupted the ferry services, affecting the delivery of goods for Christmas. The Irish Road Haulage Association expressed concerns about the delays in transporting goods to high street stores and online shopping platforms. The Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, pledged to explore all options to address the disruptions and find alternative solutions to keep the transport routes operational.

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