Belfast - Holyhead route

[A83]

Thought I was seeing things when I read this or perhaps that it was April 1st. But it appears Stena is going to run the Estrid to Belfast at weekends until the 18th July.

Now what would be the logic of this move?

https://www.niferry.co.uk/stena-to-introduce-new-temporary-belfast-holyhead-route/

[Meet the dockers]

back door onto RoI for tourists without the restrictions?

[Kieran]

back door onto RoI for tourists without the restrictions?

Shhhhhh, stop pointing out the large Northern Ireland shaped hole in the Irish government's restrictions!

[ferryfan]

here's the press release from Stena---

"Leading ferry company Stena Line has confirmed details that it will be operating a new temporary weekend service between Holyhead and Belfast, starting on Fri 25th June.  The extra capacity on the new route from Holyhead will be available until Sunday 18 July.
Stena Estrid, one of Stena Line?s newest ships will provide the service which will accommodate a mix of freight and leisure traffic, with an estimated crossing time of approximately 8 hours.
Stena Line is currently experiencing very high demand on its Belfast routes to Cairnryan and Liverpool so the addition of the temporary service will provide much needed additional capacity to and from Northern Ireland.  Furthermore, with present travel restrictions between Britain and Ireland in place, this new route will provide an additional travel option for people who might be considering ferry travel for the first time or who wish to visit Britain, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Lead in fares on the new service start at ?130 for a car and driver with sailings departing Holyhead at 23:30hrs (Friday and Saturday nights) and departing Belfast at 09:30hrs (Saturday and Sunday mornings).
Paul Grant, Stena Line Trade Director (Irish Sea) said: ?We are delighted to be able to announce details of our new temporary service between Holyhead and Belfast.  The much-anticipated summer rebound for travel is beginning and we are hugely encouraged by current  booking trends.  The current travel restrictions between Britain and Ireland have created a lot of pent-up travel demand so hopefully the addition of this new route will help provide another option for people visiting friends, relatives or taking a break as well as being an attractive option for our freight customers.?

Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet offering the widest choice of routes including, combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan and Liverpool, Dublin to Holyhead, and Rosslare to Fishguard as well as a freight only route from Belfast to Heysham, a total of up to 238 weekly sailing options between Britain and Ireland. Stena Line also offers a direct service from Rosslare to Cherbourg with 12 crossings per week.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact:

Simon Palmer, Comms Manager, Stena Line +353(0)868858789 simon.palmer@stenaline.com

Lawrence Duffy, Director, Duffy Rafferty +44(0)7785 728410 lawrence@duffyrafferty.com

[Andrew White]

not cheap, not ?130 as quoted going out next Sat back following nearly ?560 . So not cheap.

[Niall]

What about a Dun Laoghaire to Douglas or Fishguard route?

[awaityourreply]

I thought problems with the bow doors of the STENA Europe vessel caused the suspension of services to Fishguard ex-Rosslare towards the end of May and I understand that the STENA Europe vessel remains in Belfast awaiting repairs once parts are obtained. If there was a suitable spare vessel to commence new route services to Fishguard I would have thought they would have replaced the STENA Europe on it's Rosslare-Fishguard route first rather than give rival operator, Irish Ferries the business.

Meanwhile, I would be surprised if they would use Dun Laoghaire again for ferry services as STENA ceased all operations from this exit point some years ago when operations transferred to Dublin Port.

When travel restrictions eventually ease in the weeks/months ahead, perhaps there will be an major increase in demand on Ireland to UK routes. With Cork Airport set to shut down from September to November, perhaps a good time for more thinking outside the box as many people may want to travel following vaccination after such long lockdowns on non-essential international travel. Perhaps Port of Cork should explore new passenger ferry services ex-Cork to UK with Cork Airport not operating much commercial traffic and planning to close for runway extension next Autumn. With Duty Free Shopping now resumed it may make it viable for operators to consider running ferry services ex-Cork to a UK port in the coming months? Options may include either a Cork to Swansea, Cork to Pembroke Dock or Cork to Fishguard? Tourism interests in the South-West Cork & Kerry regions would certainly welcome any such move.

[Kieran]

Meanwhile, I would be surprised if they would use Dun Laoghaire again for ferry services as STENA ceased all operations from this exit point some years ago when operations transferred to Dublin Port.

Is the linkspan gone in Dun Laoghaire?

When travel restrictions eventually ease in the weeks/months ahead, perhaps there will be an major increase in demand on Ireland to UK routes. With Cork Airport set to shut down from September to November, perhaps a good time for more thinking outside the box as many people may want to travel following vaccination after such long lockdowns on non-essential international travel. Perhaps Port of Cork should explore new passenger ferry services ex-Cork to UK with Cork Airport not operating much commercial traffic and planning to close for runway extension next Autumn. With Duty Free Shopping now resumed it may make it viable for operators to consider running ferry services ex-Cork to a UK port in the coming months? Options may include either a Cork to Swansea, Cork to Pembroke Dock or Cork to Fishguard? Tourism interests in the South-West Cork & Kerry regions would certainly welcome any such move.

I really doubt it anyone will be doing Cork - UK in the near future. Ignoring the pandemic, Brexit has had a massive impact on ROI - UK traffic (Stena are reducing Dublin - Holyhead to one ship at the weekend, and not finding cover for Europe - there is all the evidence you need).

[Niall]

Meanwhile, I would be surprised if they would use Dun Laoghaire again for ferry services as STENA ceased all operations from this exit point some years ago when operations transferred to Dublin Port.

Is the linkspan gone in Dun Laoghaire?

When travel restrictions eventually ease in the weeks/months ahead, perhaps there will be an major increase in demand on Ireland to UK routes. With Cork Airport set to shut down from September to November, perhaps a good time for more thinking outside the box as many people may want to travel following vaccination after such long lockdowns on non-essential international travel. Perhaps Port of Cork should explore new passenger ferry services ex-Cork to UK with Cork Airport not operating much commercial traffic and planning to close for runway extension next Autumn. With Duty Free Shopping now resumed it may make it viable for operators to consider running ferry services ex-Cork to a UK port in the coming months? Options may include either a Cork to Swansea, Cork to Pembroke Dock or Cork to Fishguard? Tourism interests in the South-West Cork & Kerry regions would certainly welcome any such move.

I really doubt it anyone will be doing Cork - UK in the near future. Ignoring the pandemic, Brexit has had a massive impact on ROI - UK traffic (Stena are reducing Dublin - Holyhead to one ship at the weekend, and not finding cover for Europe - there is all the evidence you need).

There is stil a roro ramp at berth 4 in Dun Laoghaire Harbour where the Lynx used to berth

[Kieran]

There is stil a roro ramp at berth 4 in Dun Laoghaire Harbour where the Lynx used to berth

Ah ha! Maybe there is still some hope for Dun Laoghaire yet!

[Steven]

There is stil a roro ramp at berth 4 in Dun Laoghaire Harbour where the Lynx used to berth

Ah ha! Maybe there is still some hope for Dun Laoghaire yet!

Just need to find a ship that can fit while still being commercially viable while not upsetting the ?Dunlorry? crowd.

back door onto RoI for tourists without the restrictions?

There?s a large number of us in Northern Ireland who had booked to travel to GB via Dublin, only to have to change our plans.  Capacity is a big problem given the amount of NI traffic that usually passes through Dublin.  Freight demand is also an issue with loads that would previously passed through Dublin going NI - GB.   As weekends are generally quieter for freight (even in ?normal? times), it makes sense to switch Estrid to boost capacity elsewhere given the low passenger deman. The central corridor has recovered quite a bit from the lows earlier in the year and a lot of that seems to be due to land-bridge freight.  People and companies have gotten used to the paperwork and the process itself has become more streamlined as the kinks in the system have been ironed out (the process starts before the load even arrives at Dublin or Rosslare).  It?s still not perfect, but the nightmares some predicted never seem to have materialised apart from some extreme cases were there was a belief nothing had changed by someone somewhere in the process.  In terms of passengers, until truly free travel is allowed between ROI and GB it?s never going to be back to ?normal?.  There?s also an issue with those of us from NI proving our vaccinated status at present as there is no official documentation either digitally or on paper form yet.

If people are circumventing the Irish government rules by using a ?back door? then that?s on their conscience - ferry companies aren?t the police (or border guards) and don?t have the power to refuse travel based on a suspicion, especially given some will be travelling for permitted reasons.  I will say that there are a heck of a lot of cars with ROI registrations around Belfast these days though, especially around retail areas! 

[A83]

Can't see this route on the Stena website. Is that the end so?

[pob34]

Yes, it was only to operate until 18th July while demand was lower on Dublin - Holyhead route. I was on one of the sailings myself from Belfast to Holyhead and the vessel seemed quiet. I travelled as a foot passenger, but when boarding through the vehicle decks, they appeared far from full. From what I could gather, most people were using it as Belfast to Liverpool was fully booked. I suppose given the short notice given before the service started it was unlikely that the sailings would have been full!