Irish Ferries Fleet movements

[giftgrub]

The rumour mill is in overdrive today and the latest indications are the IF are in the lead to purchase the Spirit of Britain with a team apparently onboard carrying out an inspection obviously for their Dover - Calais service which will then release the Innisfree to the Rosslare Pembroke service (which in a previous life under Stena RoRo ownership as Stena Royal was rumoured at one time to be heading to Rosslare Fishguard for Stena Line which of course never happened).

Still strange to sell such a modern ship to a direct competitor but something strange is happening at P&O and Irish Ferries look to be in the front of the queue to acquire one of the Spirits.

This would also solve the Norbay's lack of suitability for Rosslare Pembroke and put a decent if very heavily worked ferry onto the Pembroke route.

[boathansm]

It seems almot certain that Atlantic Vision will not be joining Irish Ferries

Unconfirmed reports on Facebook that a Stena crew are onboard preparing the Atlantic Vision for its return to Europe, more likely a Tallink crew but you never know what's happening next.

Looks like she's getting flag of Cyprus.

[IFPete]

Irish Ferries may be in the market for two ferries. One for Rosslare - Pembroke and another for Dublin - Cherbourg.

[Ferriesbetterfastercheape]

Still strange to sell such a modern ship to a direct competitor

If P&O really sell a Spirit-ferry now to Irish Ferries - especially for operation on Dover-Calais - this would be against all normal business rules.
And was therefore also not expected or speculated from me.
So in fact Irish Ferries is the big "Dover-winner" get the wished much bigger capacity and can further develop this very very important route. Also positive for all customers and travelers - with more free space onboard Irish Ferries can offer also in future lower ticket-prices.

But the strategy from P&O i can not understand... .

Irish Ferries may be in the market for two ferries. One for Rosslare - Pembroke and another for Dublin - Cherbourg.

This was also my opinion.
If possible they must try to operate the Cherbourg-route with 2 ferries permanently.
And one ferry as Oscar Wilde, Inishmore or a Superfast for Pembroke.
And two big ferries + Cat on Holyhead-Dublin.

So they need in fact more than 1 new used ferry now.
They are in a good financial position also - so it is no problem to buy (or charter) now 2 or 3 used ferries also.

Think my proposal for "from 2025":
Dover: Ulysses, Spirit (of Ireland ?), Inishmore (would be more capacity than P&O !)
Holyhead: Oscar Wilde, 1st Australian Superfast, Swift
Pembroke: Atlantic Vision Superfast
Cherbourg: WB Yeats and 2nd Australian Superfast
Leave the fleet: Inisheer and Innisfree

Results:
1) On all routes a very good - or best - offer for all customer-groups in capacity and comfort.
2) The both oldest / less comfortable ferries away = in summary a much better, bigger,newer fleet.
3) And all this with relative low investments without any expensive new-buildings.

[boathansm]

It seems almot certain that Atlantic Vision will not be joining Irish Ferries

Unconfirmed reports on Facebook that a Stena crew are onboard preparing the Atlantic Vision for its return to Europe, more likely a Tallink crew but you never know what's happening next.

Some updates here about manager. 

https://vesselregister.dnv.com/vesselregister/details/31780

[geopm]

The W.B.Yeats departed Dublin yesterday 28/3 at 16h14 (Local time) but did not arrive into Cherbourg until 12h30 (Local time).  I have noticed that this appears to be a regular thing recently even though the 2024 timetable gives her scheduled arrival time as 11h30 (Local time). There was no apparent weather issue last night that would cause a delay in her sailing time, I wonder are they conserving fuel at the expense of good timekeeping.

[Niall]

The W.B.Yeats departed Dublin yesterday 28/3 at 16h14 (Local time) but did not arrive into Cherbourg until 12h30 (Local time).  I have noticed that this appears to be a regular thing recently even though the 2024 timetable gives her scheduled arrival time as 11h30 (Local time). There was no apparent weather issue last night that would cause a delay in her sailing time, I wonder are they conserving fuel at the expense of good timekeeping.

There was bad weather in the English channel yesterday and last night.

[jpwoodh]

The Irish Ferries 2023 annual report was published yesterday.  Have a read about 'investment in Dover Calais is complete' and the 2024 strategy and have a second thought if they are really acquiring a new ship for Dover Calais.  I'm not so sure, but with ICG, you never know, but to acquire a new ferry a few days after publishing that would be strange.

https://icg.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ICG_Annual_Report_YE22-1.pdf

[ferryfan]

The Irish Ferries 2023 annual report was published yesterday.  Have a read about 'investment in Dover Calais is complete' and the 2024 strategy and have a second thought if they are really acquiring a new ship for Dover Calais.  I'm not so sure, but with ICG, you never know, but to acquire a new ferry a few days after publishing that would be strange.

https://icg.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ICG_Annual_Report_YE22-1.pdf

That's the 2022 report which was published in March 2023 Last Year
try this one

https://icg.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ICG_Annual_Report_YE23.pdf

[Ferriesbetterfastercheape]

You have linked the report from 2022.
These annually reports are like books - what means it takes a lot of time from writing the texts up to publishing. So these texts there are mainly mostly from autumn 2021 - maybe last parts written / corrected around or past new-year. And there is f.ex. on page 14 in XXXL letters with a ferry-picture "Dover Calais service will give us excellent platform to continue to grow" spoken from the CEO.

This is exactly what they have done. Organized 3 very cheap old ferries for to start the route. Then they have got more and more customers on the Dover-route and now today in meantime most weekdays their capacity-limit is reached - so now in 2024 they need bigger ferries there for to grow further and win more bigger market-shares - not only from DFDS and P&O, but also from Brittany Ferries and Stena-Harwich some customers has changed to the much cheaper Dover-Irish Ferries. That`s just a 100% normal business-strategy - to start new routes and make them bigger and bigger.

Ryanair, Flixbus, leading cruise-ship-companies, LIDL, ALDI, McDonalds, Burger King and 1000 other companies has this same absolute normal business-strategy. In opposite to other ferry-companies which are closing or down-running ferry-routes with replacing of big comfortable ferries with smaller freight-orientated RoPax with much smaller Pax-capacity and poor limited onboard service.

So to buy now the big comfortable Spirit of Britain (if that`s really is true) and replace the much smaller and older Inisheer or Innisfree is a logical step. The only surprising step is that P&O is helping massive Irish Ferries to get a much better fleet. With a nice interior-renovation Irish Ferries COULD offer then the most attractive ferry there, with biggest Duty-free, most cozy bar, best restaurants etc. . Why (maybe) pay more and book DFDS or P&O then anymore ?

And in the 2023 report from Irish Ferries was spoken about XXXXL financial profits (more than 100 Mio.) - so Irish Ferries has now a lot of money to invest in newer bigger used ferries.

So with the newest rumors that Atlantic Vision shall go NOW into Fayard Shipyard in Odense (where also other ferries from Irish Ferries has been in the last years) my speculations can be reality that also Atlantic Vision will go to Irish Ferries circa in june.

Then thinkable fleet-use from this summer:
DOVER Inisheer, Inishmore and Spirit of Ireland (ex Britain)
HOLYHEAD Ulysses, Innisfree, Swift
CHERBOURG WB Yeats and Atlantic Vision
PEMBROKE Oscar Wilde

Because Atlantic Vision has more cabins and Pullman-seats than Oscar Wilde it would be logical to use Atlantic Vision to Cherbourg where Irish Ferries has galactic super-expensive ticket- and cabin-prices.

Then in 2025 they COULD replace Innisfree and Inisheer with the both very comfortable Australian Superfasts. Ca. 75 more cabins than Atlantic Vision = then one to Cherbourg and the 2nd to Dover (replacing Inisheer) and Atlantic Vision to Holyhead (replacing Innisfree).
With this fleet Irish Ferries could well operate until CIRCA 2030, collect so much money as possible and then start with order of 100% electric even more bigger new-buildings - then available with much longer battery-range than today - replacing in the first half of the 30ies years 6 ferries but without the 3 youngest, Spirit, Yeats and Wilde.

This is just my fleet-speculation - but it would be "continue to grow" as said from the CEO.

[jpwoodh]

My mistake, I quoted from the 2023 annual report, published on the 28th of March, and went back and got the wrong link. Duh

In the CEO statement it is stated that investment for Dover Calais is complete. 

" The Group completed its investment in the Dover – Calais service in 2022 with gave the Group the benefit of a full three ship operation during the current year. "

Strange to say that, and acquire a new ship for the route, although they could argue that it's an investment in Rosslare. 


Ferriesfaster.... If you are going to quote the CEO, please don't take it out of context

"I am confident that further growth can be achieved in 2024, although the scale of the growth will be dependent on the extent and timing of interest rate decreases which should in turn fuel international growth."

[Ferriesbetterfastercheape]

Strange to say that, and acquire a new ship for the route, although they could argue that it's an investment in Rosslare. 

Ferriesfaster.... If you are going to quote the CEO, please don't take it out of context

So you mean they can now not invest in Dover because of in 2022 the investment was complete ?
I think the CEO mean with this statement the "route-start-investment" only, they wanted start with 3 ferries, and in 2022 this process of to organize/buy 3 ferries was completed. And then this Dover-route has much much more better and faster developed than expected. There was another statement a few weeks ago that their Dover freight-capacity is already full tuesday to friday always. So every now new interested potentially freight-customer can actually only send his trucks sat.-mond. . This is a sensation for a new-comer on a route where are already 2 strong other companies since many years. So it is logical now to take the next chance to buy any bigger and newer ferry for Dover - replacing an older and smaller ferry - which can maybe used in Irish Sea also.

I have quoted only from the CEO the key-main-point and also clear said with page-number and the big ferry-picture exactly where it is to find. If someone write such an article in magazine-style - the most important main-key-point is placed exactly there - in XXXL letters inside the theme-picture. So future G R O W I N G is the main-point for Irish Ferries.

They wanted also the Honfleur f.ex. - but the price was too high. So they wait just for the next good chance to get the next good available ferry cheap. And later they can decide which ferry switch from route X to route Y or maybe back.
The really strong growing routes in these years are Dover and Cherbourg - and their main-key-point is GROWING - so it makes absolute sense to invest now again in more bigger newer ferries instead of to say to the customers there "oh, sorry - we are full-booked - please buy a ticket from DFDS, P&O, Stena or Brittany Ferries".

In the British Channel in these years is happening what was anticipated from international travel-, traffic- and tourism-experts: Irish Ferries is the big Dover-winner (faster than expected !), getting every year more new customers and bigger market-shares from all others (DFDS, P&O, Brittany Ferries and Stena-Harwich).
So if the ferry Spirit of Britain is really available now - they must try hard everything to get this big modern ferry - for further future growing. Because their actually smaller ferries are often full-booked (freight) and no growing anymore is possible. 

[jpwoodh]

I'm quoting from the CEO strategic report, and not an infographic. 

They could easily acquire a new ferry next week, but it goes against what the CEO wrote in his Annual Report to shareholders, published on Thursday.

If Irish ferries is the winner, why then are their fares constantly lower than the competition?   Which Travel experts stated that Irish Ferries would be the winner. 

Year on year, the channel is in decline and the CEO states that growth will come from interest rate declines this year - sounds very passive to me.

[boathansm]

Atlantic vision on the way. Heading for Skagen, DK

[MatthewCartmill]

As far as I'm aware Irish ferries aren't interested in Atlantic vision but anything can happen I guess it was more of a rumour but will have to wait and see if there is anything in it.