Stena Line fleet movements

[giftgrub]

According to the booking engine on the Stena Line website the Adventurer will return to service on March 20th with the 02.30 Holyhead - Dublin sailing. Services are covered by the Nordica and Explorer until then with the Scotia providing a back up freight service.
Interestingly there is no premium for some Explorer services in this time with some sailings on the Explorer cheaper than the Nordica, obviously to help manage supply and demand in the Adventurers absence.

[SEA]

Stena Scotia left her berth this morning at around 5 am and is currently tied up on Dublin's south quays, I think she should be on her way to Holyhead

[giftgrub]

The Stena Scotia moves to a lay by berth at Dublin during the day after 0400ish and stays there until she moves back to load for the 1510 sailing.

[SEA]

Thanks Giftgrub,
I was under the impression whilst covering the Nordica's run she would do the same twice daily round trip

[Collision-course]

Because Stena Scotia can not accommodate freight drivers its departures are timed around Stena Explorer's timetable as the drivers of trucks aboard Stena Scotia travel aboard Stena Explorer and collect their trucks at the other side.

[Fast Ferry Fan]

Because Stena Scotia can not accommodate freight drivers its departures are timed around Stena Explorer's timetable as the drivers of trucks aboard Stena Scotia travel aboard Stena Explorer and collect their trucks at the other side.

Sounds highly duplicative to me.  Is there really anything that can't make it's way round to Dun Laoghaire by road?

It's not that long ago since there were 3 round trips to Dun Laoghaire and a lot more freight went that way.

[Collision-course]

There is a truck ban in place at the port of Dun Laoghaire , has been there for some time now , it seems the residents of the million Euro plus period homes along the seafront road dont like "big filthy smelly trucks" passing their homes and petitioned the local authority to ban them , subsequently no freight can be carried from Dun Laoghaire.

[giftgrub]

The Explorer is carrying a lot of passenger traffic, to maximise revenue, carrying the freight on the Scotia makes sense, allowing the Explorer to carry as much passenger and car traffic. The Explorer could take 50 trucks and then they would have a lot less space for car traffic.

Dun Laoghaire will except freight in special circumstances when the trucks are carrying popstar possessions !!!

They did allow the Explorer to run a freight crossing last September to get Lady GAGA's equipment across the Irish Sea.

http://afloat.ie/port-news/ferry-news/item/19895-stena-lines-hss-service-sounds-good-for-lady-gaga

[Comet92]

2 Weeks ago, when I was on the HSS, there was a small number of trucks on board.

[Collision-course]

I would imagine they used the damage to the Finnarrow as leverage to get some freight through there.

[DublinPeter]

There is no ban as such on Trucks through Dun Laoghaire port - the planning permission and Harbour act from back in the mid 1990s actively discourages freight though and some of the more wealthy residents were very voiciferous in their opposition to extra truck traffic which was both unfortunate and shortsighted.

If my memory serves me rightly, much of the freight traffic was shifted to Dublin Port when the HSS began - would it have been the Stena Traveller that was introduced round about then?

HSS has always been pushed on route as being the ideal method of transport for Cars and passenger transport and in fairness, given the roads in the locality that makes a fair bit of sense.  Just needs to be more cars and passengers to keep HSS going!

Interesting to see plenty of trucks on the HSS the last few weeks though and good to see the port looking so busy with both passenger and commercial traffic. Even Stena have cashed in on the peculiar circumstances caused by the Finarrow incident by offering discounted day trips from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire on HSS for a tenner until March 21st!

Pete

[Niall]

Its lower fuel prices that needs to keep the HSS going. As she operates on 4 gas turbine engines. Her future is looking bleak beyond 2014. It is likely tha she and her sister Stena Voyager will be recycled by Stena Metall in the next 3 to 4 years.

[DublinPeter]

Fair point Niall, well made!

I was talking about the shorter term (2013/14) rather than her longer term prognosis which isn't great, although she has been on more farewell voyages than Status Quo at this stage and yet there she still is.  I wouldn't be writing her off for 2014-2016 just yet.

Always remember that despite the fuel guzzling (although the speed reductions have knocked that down significantly) she provides not just capacity on the Irish Sea but market share for the Stena brand which is just as important.  As long as Irish Ferries have a fastcraft, so will Stena - whether thats the HSS in a few years time is distinctly debatable but time (and the global economy!) will be the final arbiter of that one.

Pete

[Niall]

A contact in Stena told me that the company won't invest in any future high speed fastcraft.

[Fast Ferry Fan]

Seemed like there was a lot of traffic leaving Dun Laoghaire port today, but then it is effectively covering 2 Nordica sailings.  What'd be interesting to know is how much extra business was generated because of the early relanch.

I presume the HSS is currently being primarily crewed by staff that would normally be on the morning / afternoon sailing of the Nordica, which is why it doesn't really matter that it stays in DL for a 3 hours in the afternoon.  This might account also for the fact that it was put back in service within 4 days of the Finnarrow incident, ie because the staff were available.  I also presume the crew will then switch to seasonal staff post 22 March, when the HSS was due to start.