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Messages - DublinPeter

#1
Discussion Board / Re: Jonathan Swift Technical issue
February 18, 2017, 02:45:57 PM
Happy to report that she's back in action and doing the best part of 38 knots out of Dublin bay as we speak :) Good to have her back.  Always best to get to the bottom of any tech issues in January and February when loads are at their lightest.  Her first rotation each day in particular is a very busy one as Spring and Summer roll in.

Pete
#2
Crumbs from the Dublin Port table isn't a million miles short of the mark whether that is Cruise and/or Passenger/Fastcraft traffic.  Thankfully for them, there is not likely to be a shortage of those crumbs going forward and (business arrangements permitting), that is where the Commercial future lies for DL.  Steven is right in that as a port, Dun Laoghaire is quite restricted but it is ideal for certain services but it is perfectly suited for particular types of overflow.

As has been the case for quite a while now, the issue is not with operators (I can vouch for at least 2 as being credible), it is with the political machinations around the Harbours Bill 2015 and who will control the operation of the Harbour.  That's likely to take much of 2017 to resolve which is a great pity because minds have eventually come around to the glaringly obvious (commercially speaking!).  They really struggle to help themselves sometimes and it can make painful watching.

Pete
#3
Time will tell chaps!

They have a bizzare way of conducting themselves but I reckon they will get there in the end.

Ruling anybody or anything out would be foolish.  Even Stena ;)

Pete
#4
The News Board / Re: HSC Express
November 13, 2016, 04:51:22 PM
I hadn't heard that about Lynx III - she's a lovely vessel, particularly inside but she had serious mechanical issues on her last year or so for Stena and very nearly didn't make it across the Bay of Biscay on her subsequent delivery voyage! Would be lovely to see her back in South Dublin again :)

Pete
#5
The News Board / Re: HSS Stena Explorer
November 09, 2016, 10:17:27 PM
Just on that topic, the letting out of the bulk of the old Ferry Terminal building won't effect the return (or not) of a Ferry.  The ground floor end of the terminal (down by Berth 5) isn't included and is set aside for Marine use with access to Berth 4 or 5. In fairness, it's a good idea in any circumstance to make use of the terminal building and it's frontage. 

Valuable bit of real estate down there with a beautiful aspect - personally I think it would make a nice Hotel and performance space.  Good to see that the Harbour Company are now actively engaging with Dublin Port, Visit Dublin and all the other stakeholders about working together on the cruise business.  Makes a lot of sense for everyone.

Pete
#6
The News Board / Re: Swift Replacement
October 21, 2016, 02:56:28 PM
The actual vessel is pure speculation but I think that Eamon Rothwell has been pretty clear in expressing the view that Swift will (eventually) be replaced and that IF plan to continue Fast Ferry operation for the forseeable future at least.  She's awkward crewing-wise but does well on the bank balance and also keeps competition away.  There will be fast ferry operation on the central corridor for a good while yet!

Pete
#7
Quote from: ferryfan on May 21, 2016, 10:34:12 PM
Epsilon has been out of action for days now and this afternoon she moved off berth and has been at anchor just off Dun Laoghaire (quadrant 1) all day. Has any member got any idea whats up with her?

Apologies in advance for me butchering the language of engineering but apparently it's a piece of kit that thins fuel that has packed up and there isn't one on shelf in Halfords :) New one will take weeks to arrive so they're doing their best to repair the current unit to get her back sailing until the new one arrives. 

Pete

#8
Quote from: IFPete on May 15, 2016, 06:09:15 PM
The current set up in Dun Laoire would need a bigger pontoon for the swift,

The pontoon in Holyhead is bigger.

Swift could in fact use a low quayside plinth because Swift has its own ramps unlike the Lynx.

True indeed IFPete, the small pontoon suited the Lynx with one rear ramp open OK but wouldn't be big enough for either Swifts rear ramp or her bow ramp (which is the one she has but the Lynx doesn't). For any potential centre-door loading fastcraft, the new pontoon will need to be wider and indeed have a bit of a turn "out" to get vehicles down the ramp and across to the centre entrance  of the vessel. There are engineers drawings etc for it in DL as and when it might be required! For now though, it's all about dismantling.  Big job to get the HSS stuff taken away, crane has been very busy the last 2 days unloading the barge of all it's cutting gear.

Pete
#9
The News Board / Re: HSS Stena Explorer
May 13, 2016, 10:11:52 AM
Quote from: Steven on May 13, 2016, 08:59:04 AM
Quote from: Fast Ferry Fan on May 13, 2016, 12:25:43 AM
Didn't Stena sell it for about what they used to say was the cost of its annual refurbishment  (about £1m)?  This would have represented a massive discount on its original £60m cost.

If the new owners really are trying to sell it for $6.5m then perhaps it was always a speculative buy and hold purchase until it appeared that low fuel prices were here to stay for the foreseeable future, and therefore more valuable.
Daily Post have managed to get confirmation from both Karadeniz and the broker that she is indeed for sale again.  Excellent work by them, and nice to see some journalists actually do the "leg work" rather than rely on mere speculation.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/sale-former-holyhead-stena-line-11324513

Having asked around it appears that Karadeniz will in fact be taking a loss at that sale price - assuming she doesn't go for even less.  Bear in mind that it took a considerable amount of effort for Stena to sell her on in the first place - she didn't exactly get snapped up as soon as she was for sale!  At £4.5m, a price which could get lower in any case, I fear she could be cheap enough to tempt the breakers at Aliaga.  Its still around double what was paid for Discovery of course, but not only is Explorer in much better condition having been maintained rather than abandoned for years, but there won't be the costs associated with transporting her across the atlantic for demolition either!  The situation regarding her needing expensive maintenance work to operate again hasn't changed for the better either, if anything she will now require even more work.  This was always an extremely ambitious project - I wonder whether it has been a case of poor project planning and management (did they even have planning consent for mooring her?), or if an issue with the craft itself?  Regarding fuel prices, things are still far from certain.  Fingers crossed for a positive outcome in any case.

I think you might well be right on this one Steven, it does seem to have been a strangely planned operation! I'm sure Stena were delighted to get cash (whatever the price) for her and get her moved out of Holyhead but the breakers are a bit too close for comfort now.  Only thing she has going for her ironically is that the price of Aluminium scrap is still very low so she would have to sell at a serious discount to make the scrapping worthwhile. Perhaps the Greeks may take a look, given that she's just down the road now :)

Pete
#10
Quote from: Steven on May 11, 2016, 08:55:35 PM
Quote from: DublinPeter on May 11, 2016, 04:43:07 PM
Quote from: Steven on May 11, 2016, 10:55:40 AM
Quote from: giftgrub on May 10, 2016, 08:10:26 PM
HSS and Lynx infrastructure being removed in Dun Laoghaire

http://dlharbour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NtoM-9-of-2016-Dismantling-of-equipmant-at-No-5-berth.pdf
Pretty much confirms what many of us expected - Dun Laoghaire's death as a ferry port.

Fat lady is yet to sing there just yet as I've said before. HSS infrastructure was always going to be removed, makes no difference to any future operator.  Just the Lynx pontoon that's being removed  (was bespoke to the Lynx), ramps etc remain in situ and have recently been serviced. Still painfully slow negotiations about future route (s). It's like a giant game of chicken, nobody wants to jump first!

Pete
How do you suggest vehicles are going to board the hypothetical fast craft then?  The pontoon should have been compatible with most, if not all InCats.  Unlike the HSS the lynx didn't require highly specialised infrastructure.  Any operator is going to require a new pontoon, which won't come cheap.  Theres also the matter of access to the berth - freight is out of the question due to the need to pass under the terminal.  Without being able to take any freight, the economics are going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make add up.  Thats before you even consider the competition!  The longer we go on with out a service of course, the less likely it is there will be any.  Is there a market for a passenger and car only service?  Yes, but its nowhere near the size that it was and already being oversupplied by the existing operators who can also take larger vehicles to balance out the economics of the route.  If all parties really wanted to make a deal I suspect it would already have happened.  Good luck to Dun Laoghaire of course, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Such cynicism in one so young Steven! Thankfully, the people working to advance the project don't share the views of the internet  ;)

The one point you are completely correct about is when you say that the longer there is no service, the more difficult it becomes. Agree totally and the pace of progress is incredibly and frustratingly slow for all manner of reasons and on all sides.

The pontoon has to go primarily because it belongs to Stena and they wouldn't be keen to leave it there to facilitate a competitor (even a hypothetical one).  It's also 23 years old and in need of some serious TLC.  Fear not though, there are other pontoons available at reasonable cost as and when one is required.  The underpass at DL isn't as small as you think, and realistically any seasonal fastcraft service won't really be competing for heavy freight business in any event (cars, vans, coaches etc would be its bread and butter).

As to whether a seasonal tourist fastcraft service is viable. Well, that's where the chicken comes in! To come back to your post, all parties definitely want to make a deal but everyone is waiting to see what everyone else does.  Hang up...no, you hang up.....

Pete
#11
Quote from: Steven on May 11, 2016, 10:55:40 AM
Quote from: giftgrub on May 10, 2016, 08:10:26 PM
HSS and Lynx infrastructure being removed in Dun Laoghaire

http://dlharbour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NtoM-9-of-2016-Dismantling-of-equipmant-at-No-5-berth.pdf
Pretty much confirms what many of us expected - Dun Laoghaire's death as a ferry port.

Fat lady is yet to sing there just yet as I've said before. HSS infrastructure was always going to be removed, makes no difference to any future operator.  Just the Lynx pontoon that's being removed  (was bespoke to the Lynx), ramps etc remain in situ and have recently been serviced. Still painfully slow negotiations about future route (s). It's like a giant game of chicken, nobody wants to jump first!

Pete
#12
The News Board / Re: P&O Fleet Movements
April 20, 2016, 11:45:04 PM
Quote from: TC on April 19, 2016, 03:31:48 PM
Lovely vessel, my personal favourite of the HSC's. Very bright, modern and airy. Not cramped, like a big Stena Lynx III. The club lounge to the stern was a nice feature, and the refit back in 2012 updated much of her interior.

I my opinion she would have made a good replacement for the HSS, but like P&O, Stena too have pulled the plug on the HSC operations. Stena Carisma is still sitting idle unfortunately, and the future for the Hoverspeed / Seacat vessels in Greece looks very uncertain.

HSC's are pretty common in that neck of the woods, so hopefully Express will earn her keep. P&O looked after her well so she will be around for a few years yet.

You're right TC, she is a lovely vessel and from what I'm told she came closer than we think to a new life in Dun Laoghaire enjoying a Teddys 99 and plying her trade across the Irish Sea.  It's amazing the difference a nice interior fitout makes to a vessel and I agree with the comparisons to latter era Stena Lynx III which really looked very smart following on from her final refit before she went off to her new life in Asia. 

Pete
#13
The News Board / Re: Irish Ferries Fleet movements
March 01, 2016, 11:10:58 PM
Don't think the fat lady has sung just yet for Cats on the Irish Sea. Apart from the fact that Swift does very well, particularly on her morning rotation and apparently operates at a profit she provides much needed capacity on the corridor, particularly seasonally. 

On the speed point, she passed the Kish lighthouse this morning at 39.5 knots so there's life in the old dog yet  :)

Pete
#14
Quote from: NathanBrady on February 13, 2016, 01:13:17 AM
Meanwhile Dun Laoghaire doesn't seem to be going anywhere with their cruise facility

It has been to Oral Hearing with An Bord Pleanala (planning board) and they have said that they will make a decision whether or not to grant permission for the development by April 7th.  In fairness, not much anyone can do until then!

Pete
#15
The News Board / Re: Irish Ferries Fleet movements
January 03, 2016, 11:22:29 PM
Quote from: TC on January 03, 2016, 07:19:55 PM
Quote from: DublinPeter on January 03, 2016, 05:34:20 PM
From as close to the horses mouth as it gets it looks like Epsilon is to be returned when it's charter ends later this year.  She may be replaced by another charter ship in the relatively short term while a more permanent Ro/Pax solution is found. 

There are no plans to stop Fast Ferry operations by IF - Swift (even with its cancellations in Winter!) is a profitable product for IF which they have no intention of sacrificing.  There has been ongoing talk of getting a younger, larger fastcraft but from the engineering side at least, there is no appetite for this given how mechanically reliable she is. 

Both operators on the corridor are concerned about the impact that a potential 3rd operator might have so are very anxious to have/hold for now.

We already have a third operator - P&O Ferries, who have beefed up the Liverpool to Dublin service with the deployment of European Endeavour, as the third ship. P&O have three vessels which total 6200 lane metres per day from each port. All three vessels are operating to capacity, so I wouldn't be surprised if P&O doesn't turn out to be the next operator to deploy another vessel. It would be an ideal opportunity for them to make up lot ground, considering the situation at Larne.

If numbers kept falling at Larne, they could always move European Highlander / European Causeway to Dublin. Install a few extra cabins, possibly through lengthening the vessel using the additional space on the car-deck for more trailers, and on the additional space on the passenger decks for cabins.

Irish Ferries have options as-well. They could swing a deal with a Greek / Mediterranean operator and get something a bit more passenger friendly for the Dublin to Holyhead run in lieu of Epsilon.

Fair point TC! I should of course have said on the route rather than on the corridor! It's an open secret that Epsilon arrived on the scene at Holyhead as a blocking tactic on a third operator as much as for providing extra capacity at the time.  The concerns about other operators also does the Swift's longevity no harm either!

There has been much talk recently about a ro-pax competitor heading to Dublin - Liverpool with a daily service but lack of spare berths at Dublin Port and difficulty securing hard standage at the alternative port (coupled with that port company getting itself stuck between a rock and a hard place!) has put those plans on hold although apparently their appearance hastened the arrival of P&O ship 3!  Interesting times indeed.

Pete