Irish Ferries Fleet movements

[Steven]

At this stage I wouldn't rely on any information on their website, it is not being updated in real time. No Dublin to Cherbourg again this weekend putting even more pressure on Rosslare services. No Dublin-Holyhead bookings being taken for Monday and Ulysses atm only reappearing on Tuesday for the evening crossing.

I wouldn't at all be surprised to see it go on longer than that unfortunately.  The timing is terrible as well.  No time is a good time for these things to happen, but summer is surely one of the worst

[IFPete]

Same thing happened to Aer lingus with three longhaul A330 aircraft all going tech in july and August simultaniously.

Its just the luck of the draw. Its a real pity Epsilon does not not have the ability to operate out of pembroke dock.

The real hero to come out of this is the Swift. She has performed very well helped by the good weather and last night took the passengers, cars and possibly the eurolines coaches to holyhead on an additional 0830 - 2230 DUB - HLY and 2330 - 0120 HYL - DUB Sailing.

[SEA]

I hear Ulysses is definitely  off  the run until at least Monday or Tuesday, as Stephen said its getting serious .;

[Steven]

I hear Ulysses is definitely  off  the run until at least Monday or Tuesday, as Stephen said its getting serious .;

She's already off the timetable until Tuesday, though as ferryfan says you can't really trust she'll be back then either

Not sure how Epsilon being able to operate out of Pembroke would help?  Freight is already backed up and she has more lane metres than Inishmore (though at least they should get a lot of drops cleared over the weekend).  Doubt Europe could cope alone out of Rosslare at this time of year either, though perhaps Holyhead Js the greater need now.  In any case, it's a no-win situation.

[Steven]

Just beeen posted on Facebook that expected departure from dry dock for Ulysses is 17th July.  I expect she'll need trials after that too.....

[IFPete]

If Ulysses is delayed to 17th July IOI will have to come north, Irish Ferries and Stena cannot cope for that length of time with Ulysses out of action.

[The insider]

Stena can cope ...they are full every sailing  and laughing  all the way to the bank

[Steven]

If Ulysses is delayed to 17th July IOI will have to come north, Irish Ferries and Stena cannot cope for that length of time with Ulysses out of action.

It's still a no win situation though - Europe on her own in mid-July?  Maybe Inishmore could manage without Europe but not the other way round.  Can't think of anything that might be available on the charter market either - for freight OR passengers.  They could really be doing with WB YEATS right now, that's for sure!

Given the comments I'm having to delete on the NI Ferry Site Facebook page, I really feel for all the staff involved.  Both at IF and Stena!  At the end of the day they are the ones having to take the abuse.  Don't think I'd much fancy a crossing on Epsilon operating with her PC maxed out either :s.

[IFPete]

The real unknown factor is how close WB Yeats is to serviceablity. It was originally due to enter service next Friday.

[Steven]

The real unknown factor is how close WB Yeats is to serviceablity. It was originally due to enter service next Friday.

Given they've cleared her off the timetable totally now I'm minded to say pretty far off!  Certainly not close enough to cover Ulysses next week anyway ;).

[sgraIRL]

According to IF website  the 0200 sailing of Epsilon tomorrow is cancelled due to technical reasons

What is going on with the Epsilon now?  2 out of 3 daily sailings by the Epsilon listed as cancelled on the IF website due to 'Operational Reasons' for yesterday & today..

[IFPete]

Epsilon is covering Ulysses Schedule.

Swift did not travel to Holyhead tonight so Epsilons load must be manageable.

I wonder if there is any spare freight tonnage in North sea or Baltic due to summer industry closures.

[The insider]

Stena  are the only winners here let's be honest

[Steven]

Epsilon is covering Ulysses Schedule.

Swift did not travel to Holyhead tonight so Epsilons load must be manageable.

I wonder if there is any spare freight tonnage in North sea or Baltic due to summer industry closures.

Freight loads are low over the weekend so they can clear any backlog (and the IS a backlog I hear at Holyhead).  By they I mean both operators.  Freight will always find a way.  Problem for IF is when it comes to renewal time, how long are their memories!?  They've built their reputation on having the "most reliable ferry in the world" but this year that's been far from the truth.

Only reason to deploy swift realistically is pax.  Her freight capacity isn't zero, but it isn't significant either in the grand scheme of things.  Of course the further in to summer we get the more pax demand there will be.

[A83]

On the Europe this morning  [8am out of Rosslare]. It is probably about a third full. While this is a wholly random snapshot it does suggest that at the moment she has a fair bit of unused capacity. One other point; we are told that it is running slow [due in 10 minutes late].