The combination of Storm Darragh and damage on Friday to port infrastructure in Holyhead, Wales, is causing significant disruption to ferry services in the Irish Sea.
Both the Irish Ferries and Stena Line websites show all ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead are cancelled on Sunday and Monday, apart from the 20.55 Irish Ferries Ulysses departure from Dublin, which is categorised as being “in doubt”. Customers are being advised to check the websites for updates. Some Irish Ferries services between Dublin and Holyhead on Tuesday are also showing as cancelled.
A spokesman for Holyhead port said that, on Saturday morning, during Storm Darragh, “an incident occurred at Holyhead Port causing damage to port infrastructure.
“No injuries were reported, and all relevant authorities have been informed. As a result, Holyhead Port is currently closed to marine traffic and, at this time, it is expected that the port will remain closed until 18:00 Tuesday at the earliest, while a thorough assessment is conducted.”
Shipping sources said the damage in Holyhead was affecting the ability of both ferry lines to dock at the Welsh port, and this in turn meant that vessels remaining docked in Dublin may be taking up docking space that would otherwise be used by incoming ferries.
Online shipping tracking services show the Stena Line ferry Vision, which departed Holyhead at 10.30am on Friday, was still at sea on Sunday, sailing up and down the coast from outside Dublin Bay, to a point out from Clogherhead, Co Louth.
Likewise the Stena Adventurer, which left Dublin on Friday night just before midnight, has been keeping a north-south pattern up and down the Irish coast similar to that of the Vision, according to online tracking websites.
However a spokeswoman for the Stena said the Vision has been out of service since November and has no passengers onboard. The Adventurer also has no passengers onboard, she said.
A spokeswoman for Irish Ferries said the closure of Holyhead Port was due port infrastructure damage caused during storm Darragh, which is currently being assessed by the port operator, and was categorically not linked to the Ulysses ferry – as was being stated on an online chat forum.
Online tracking services show the Irish Ferries vessel, Ulysses, and the Stena Estrid have been docked in Dublin since Saturday morning.
Ferry services between Northern Ireland and Scotland were cancelled on Saturday but are now back in operation.
The services between Dublin and Holyhead carry a significant amount of freight as well as passengers, including fresh foods and medicines.
