Fishgaurd

Started by drew22b, April 25, 2020, 02:20:49 PM

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drew22b

Hi after living in Carmarthen for 15 years and being a regular visitor to the port I feel Fishgaurd has now become the elephant in the room when it comes to what ship can dock at what port, from what I have seen and learnt any ship should fit any port apart from Fishgaurd which is very sad because I think It is a nice little port and one of the last rail ports the uk has  :'(

pdnr777

totally agree. i like fishguard better than pembroke. yes that is the unfortunate thing that the linkspan at fishguard can only accommodate the europe or nordica. cannot accommodate anything else. until the linkspan is replaced then the port is crippled with what ships it can accommodate compared to pembroke being able to accommodate the inshore and wb yeats.
i can remember the port in years gone by having the stena lynx catamaran sailing due to the summer months. i would rather travel with stena over irish ferries due to the service that is given onboard, and if there is a delay, there is more customer focus by stena in informing their customers and doing everything to minimise delay and get back to schedule. also, it is when travelling with irish ferries into pembroke, that the ship slows right down when it gets into the mouth of the estuary and then with having to reverse onto the dock in pembroke seems to take ages.

awaityourreply

#2
I preferred docking in Swansea when it used have it's direct ferry link with Cork so; you were on the motorway towards London faster than if you had got off at either Fishguard or Pembroke Dock.

The Cork to Swansea crossing used take about 10 hours but drivers could relax on board and had less miles to drive if they were setting off from places like Cork/Kerry in South-West and on to London. New and upgraded motorways including the addition of bypasses have also changed the dynamic which has made certain ports like Cork less and less relevant in subsequent years.

Fastnet Line operated sailings from Cork to Swansea although; sailings were suddenly cancelled on November 1st, 2011.

Further details of the last Cork to Swansea ferry is via below: 

www.peoplesferry.com

Check out RTÉ News report from RTÉ's former Marine Correspondent, Tom McSweeney under below title on You Tube:
" The Peoples' Ferry arrives in Cork 25th September 2009 "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EuFnCK8zeU

Kieran

#3
A lot of ports need investment at this stage! Fishguard can accommodate vessels with a maximum draft of 7.00m and LOA of 180.00m. Keep in mind Koningin Beatrix wasn't small, and managed to fit (her LOA was 165m). Personally, feel Fishguard went backwards when it lost the direct train to London.

Quote from: awaityourreply on May 17, 2020, 12:37:38 AM
I preferred docking in Swansea when it used have it's direct ferry link with Cork so; you were on the motorway towards London faster than if you had got off at either Fishguard or Pembroke Dock.
Swansea is worse! The ferry berth in Swansea is tidal and can not take a ship of more than 150m (B&I had problems in the 70s finding ships that could fit). It's inadequate as a modern ferry port.

As far as I know, on the Wesh side, Hollyhead is the only port that can take any ship (Pembrooke has a limit too).

awaityourreply

#4
Quote from: Kieran on May 17, 2020, 09:01:12 PM
A lot of ports need investment at this stage! Fishguard can accommodate vessels with a maximum draft of 7.00m and LOA of 180.00m. Keep in mind Koningin Beatrix wasn't small, and managed to fit (her LOA was 165m). Personally, feel Fishguard went backwards when it lost the direct train to London.

Quote from: awaityourreply on May 17, 2020, 12:37:38 AM
I preferred docking in Swansea when it used have it's direct ferry link with Cork so; you were on the motorway towards London faster than if you had got off at either Fishguard or Pembroke Dock.
Swansea is worse! The ferry berth in Swansea is tidal and can not take a ship of more than 150m (B&I had problems in the 70s finding ships that could fit). It's inadequate as a modern ferry port.

As far as I know, on the Wesh side, Hollyhead is the only port that can take any ship (Pembrooke has a limit too).

Yeah, I've heard about the tidal constraints which made Swansea quite difficult to use in terms of shipping timetables if tidal conditions were not favourable which could become a nightmare if a ship's schedule was forced to change due to challenging weather conditions at times.

That said, I think the reason Cork had opted for Swansea was probably to provide an alternative choice to passengers as both Fishguard and Pembroke were already being served by regular services ex-Rosslare by Stena Line and Irish Ferries.

Cork did have direct ferry link to Fishguard until the late 1960's but this was all stopped when British Rail, which I gather controlled the port of Fishguard, brought an end to the Cork link so; Swansea was then used instead.

At a later stage, the Cork Swansea link became a Cork to Pembroke Dock service towards the end of B+I Line's days using Cork until the end of 1983 Summer season as far as I know although; Cork Swansea Car Ferries Ltd and later Fastnet Line operated between Cork and Swansea once again during their respective periods in operation.
 
Perhaps if Rosslare was only serving the one South Wales port at Fishguard, Cork might have revived services to Pembroke Dock once again. If airline flights become a lot more expensive in the years ahead perhaps it might make ferry services more relevant and affordable for passengers & tourists and I'm pretty sure that Cork/Kerry Tourism could badly do with more transport links located closer to Ireland's South-West region.

Things will change in the years ahead I suspect for some of the following reasons:

* Fallout following the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic
* Cost of using fuels after collapse in oil prices on global markets with the world in lock-down for so long along with an expected global recession/great depression.
* BREXIT is still unfinished in terms of the trade negotiations between UK and European Union
* Climate Change/Lowering CO2 emissions debate is not going away

References:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/blow-tourism-swansea-cork-ferry-scrapped-2041035

Innisfallen Narratives | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy
http://kieranmccarthy.ie/?p=2192

https://roaringwaterjournal.com/tag/swansea-cork-ferry/