Irish Ferries fleet discussion

[Steven]

I have created this thread (and will do so others for the other operators) due to Irish Ferries fleet movements filling up with discussion and speculation again, this time regarding ICG's possible interest in MS Visby and MS Gotland. However, feel fine to add any Irish Ferries fleet discussion/rumour/speculation here.

Anyway, heres some specs of the chinese built Gotland vessels taken from the Destination Gotland website

BUILT IN 2002 at Guangzhou Shipyard Int., China.
LENGTH: 195 m. BREADTH: 25 m.
SPEED: 28.5 knots.
CAPACITY: 1500 passengers/112 day cabins.
LOAD CAPACITY: 500 cars/1 750 trailer metres.
ON BOARD FACILITIES: Food market, bistro, shop, playroom and film showings.

[Chris2016]

Personally I would love to See Irish Ferries to have there vessels based at Dublin . I really want to go to on the Oscar Wilde , Also I would love to see the Isle of Inishmore back at Dublin to assist  the Ulysses on the Dublin to Holyhead Route . The Inishmore is a Super vessel along with the Ulysses . Irish ferries would clean up if You go direct from Dublin - Cherbourg as a Foot passenger . And having the Inishmore / Ulysses on the Dublin - Holyhead Route would be great for Freight . Irish ferries would clean up .

[PaddyL]

Personally I would love to See Irish Ferries to have there vessels based at Dublin . I really want to go to on the Oscar Wilde , Also I would love to see the Isle of Inishmore back at Dublin to assist  the Ulysses on the Dublin to Holyhead Route . The Inishmore is a Super vessel along with the Ulysses . Irish ferries would clean up if You go direct from Dublin - Cherbourg as a Foot passenger . And having the Inishmore / Ulysses on the Dublin - Holyhead Route would be great for Freight . Irish ferries would clean up .

Did I not read a rumour that they were considering moving their entire operation to Dublin?

[Steven]

Personally I would love to See Irish Ferries to have there vessels based at Dublin . I really want to go to on the Oscar Wilde , Also I would love to see the Isle of Inishmore back at Dublin to assist  the Ulysses on the Dublin to Holyhead Route . The Inishmore is a Super vessel along with the Ulysses . Irish ferries would clean up if You go direct from Dublin - Cherbourg as a Foot passenger . And having the Inishmore / Ulysses on the Dublin - Holyhead Route would be great for Freight . Irish ferries would clean up .

Did I not read a rumour that they were considering moving their entire operation to Dublin?

Yes, I definitely remember there was at least speculation along those lines.  Im not sure that Pembroke from Dublin would be realistic though so it would mean surrendering the Southern Corridor operation to totally move everything to Dublin.  From a tourist perspective I would have thought Dublin would make more sense than Rosslare for the France service (where do more people live and most tourists go to in Ireland after all) - the main thing going for Rosslare could be the reduced crossing time and fuel expenditure.  If Oscar was replaced with a vessel they could economically run a few knots faster though, I wonder if moving the France service at least (or perhaps half the frequencies even) would become a no-brainer?  It would certainly perhaps give them a competitive advantage against Stena and create a hub effect at Dublin at the same time.

[Normandy]

Given that we now have confirmation of a new build, it's an opportunity to speculate on the future of the irish ferries fleet. I guess epilson is gone with the arrival of the new build.
I do speculate on the demise of the fast ferry but only if there is an ability to provide additional capacity on dublin Holyhead at weekends. 
I wonder would the Oscar Wilde be big enough to cover rosslare to Pembroke?  I really do not think so sadly.
So I see the continental service moving to Dublin.
This would allow an inter working of the new build with the Oscar wilde. Or Atleast one sailing a week of Ow to dublin to provide additional capacity at Dublin.
So
DUBLIN /HOLYHEAD
Ulysses and new build / Oscar wilde

Rosslare / Pembroke
Isle of Inishmore

Continental route
Oscar wilde (seasonal midweek- 2 sailings) and new build (year round - 1 sailing)

Would be interested to see other people's options, but must say the new build seems to be of a very good spec and ideal for an enhanced year round continental service.

[Steven]

In the longer term I wouldn't be surprised to see the continental route move to Dublin, perhaps interworked with the ship ICG have an option on.  Seems like too good an opportunity to solve all of ICG's potential fleet problems at once.   This would leave IoI free to continue the Rosslare operation alone, while also reducing the total fleet and of course costs.  Im not so sure the additional capacity of the swift would be needed at weekends though - freight levels tend to be a lot lower at weekends meaning more space will be available for passengers and their cars.  In passenger terms the new ship will be able to carry around the same numbers as Epsilon and Swift combined, and will always have space for 300 cars regardless of freight levels.  I could see her being retained as a seasonal craft though, especially in the shorter term.  Note the new ship(s) is designed to run at 22.5kts and will be a lot more efficient than Oscar which is based on 1980's technology.  I imagine linking the French operation directly to the central corridor operation would be quite an attractive proposition to many, especially if the crossing time to France remained similar to that offered by Oscar at present.

[ferryfan]

PRESS RELEASE:-

Irish Continental Group plc : Delivery of Westpac Express
Released : 02 Jun 2016

Irish Continental Group PLC takes delivery "Westpac Express".

Irish Continental Group PLC ("ICG") is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement issued on 15 April 2016, it took delivery of the High Speed Craft "Westpac Express" from BALI Westpac 2006, LLC on 1 June 2016.

The Vessel has been onward delivered by ICG to Sealift LLC who has in turn chartered the Vessel to Military Sealift Command, a U.S government organisation. The charter is subject to usual US government procurement regulations and is fixed for a firm 4 month period to 30 September, with charterer's options to extend the charter period to a maximum of 59 months in total.

The vessel was built in 2001 by Austal Ships, Australia. It has a gross tonnage of 8,403 tonne, passenger capacity of 900 and a car carrying capacity of 182 units.

END

2 June 2016

Enquiries:

Eamonn Rothwell   Chief Executive Officer   +353 1 607 5628
David Ledwidge   Chief Financial Officer   +353 1 607 5628

[ferryfan]

In the longer term I wouldn't be surprised to see the continental route move to Dublin, perhaps interworked with the ship ICG have an option on.  Seems like too good an opportunity to solve all of ICG's potential fleet problems at once.   This would leave IoI free to continue the Rosslare operation alone, while also reducing the total fleet and of course costs.  Im not so sure the additional capacity of the swift would be needed at weekends though - freight levels tend to be a lot lower at weekends meaning more space will be available for passengers and their cars.  In passenger terms the new ship will be able to carry around the same numbers as Epsilon and Swift combined, and will always have space for 300 cars regardless of freight levels.  I could see her being retained as a seasonal craft though, especially in the shorter term.  Note the new ship(s) is designed to run at 22.5kts and will be a lot more efficient than Oscar which is based on 1980's technology.  I imagine linking the French operation directly to the central corridor operation would be quite an attractive proposition to many, especially if the crossing time to France remained similar to that offered by Oscar at present.

I doubt that the Rosslare route will ever be moved to Dublin. You have to remember it's only an hour and a bit from Dublin but it also serves the large southern market and to do away with it would hand the business directly to Stena and/or Britanny Ferries. The traffic through Rosslare from France is very much a 2 way thing with substantial tourists from France and the continent using it as a gateway for the "Wild Atlantic Way" and as a start for touring. Cork has lng been a popular destination for French tourists and it is a growing market.
On the issue of fastcraft there has been mention of the fact that even after 5 years on charter to the US military that HSC Westpac Express could still find its way into use on the Irish Sea, the thinking behind this is that it will be in better shape and have fewer "engine winds" than the existing vessel.

[IFPete]

The future of the swift is secure for two years in any case.

A seasonal service after that would look likely given the fact that the new ferry can comfortably handle passengers and freight in less busy periods,

A second new build could replace Oscar Wilde in 2019 / 2020 and a third could replace the IOI.

I would not be surprised in Irish Ferries investing in a couple of 2nd hand Visentini ships for leasing out or route development if they secure them at the right price.

[Steven]

In the longer term I wouldn't be surprised to see the continental route move to Dublin, perhaps interworked with the ship ICG have an option on.  Seems like too good an opportunity to solve all of ICG's potential fleet problems at once.   This would leave IoI free to continue the Rosslare operation alone, while also reducing the total fleet and of course costs.  Im not so sure the additional capacity of the swift would be needed at weekends though - freight levels tend to be a lot lower at weekends meaning more space will be available for passengers and their cars.  In passenger terms the new ship will be able to carry around the same numbers as Epsilon and Swift combined, and will always have space for 300 cars regardless of freight levels.  I could see her being retained as a seasonal craft though, especially in the shorter term.  Note the new ship(s) is designed to run at 22.5kts and will be a lot more efficient than Oscar which is based on 1980's technology.  I imagine linking the French operation directly to the central corridor operation would be quite an attractive proposition to many, especially if the crossing time to France remained similar to that offered by Oscar at present.

I doubt that the Rosslare route will ever be moved to Dublin. You have to remember it's only an hour and a bit from Dublin but it also serves the large southern market and to do away with it would hand the business directly to Stena and/or Britanny Ferries. The traffic through Rosslare from France is very much a 2 way thing with substantial tourists from France and the continent using it as a gateway for the "Wild Atlantic Way" and as a start for touring. Cork has lng been a popular destination for French tourists and it is a growing market.
On the issue of fastcraft there has been mention of the fact that even after 5 years on charter to the US military that HSC Westpac Express could still find its way into use on the Irish Sea, the thinking behind this is that it will be in better shape and have fewer "engine winds" than the existing vessel.

Often the problem with fast craft is aluminium corrosion/decay, so this would concern me more than engine issues.  A lot will depend of course on whether the current charters take the options to extend her stay of course. 

[PaddyL]

I would not be surprised in Irish Ferries investing in a couple of 2nd hand Visentini ships for leasing out or route development if they secure them at the right price.

There aren't any available surely?

[Steven]

I would not be surprised in Irish Ferries investing in a couple of 2nd hand Visentini ships for leasing out or route development if they secure them at the right price.

There aren't any available surely?

I wouldn't have thought so.  Stena own most of them now in any case, and i'd hedge would acquire any further examples that came available at a reasonable price.  Don't see ICG paying over the odds either!