Follows damage to Holyhead Port during Storm Darragh
Stena Line has chartered the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company’s former flagship vessel Ben-my-Chree to operate a temporary route between Dublin and Heysham.
It follows damage caused by Storm Darragh at Holyhead Port earlier this month.
That’s forced the Swedish ferry operator to look for alternatives, with all upcoming sailings between Dublin and Holyhead cancelled.
It’s chartered the Ben to operate the temporary, freight-only route to Heysham to try and combat some of the upheaval caused just before Christmas.
It’s operating one round-trip per day and it’s understood the Ben will be out on charter until Sunday (22 December) at least.
The latest reports state Holyhead Port won’t reopen until 15 January.
Manx Radio has contacted the Isle of Man Steam Packet for more information regarding the chartering of the Ben-my-Chree and the use of the Arrow for the Island’s freight services.
“High levels of pre-Christmas bookings have made this a very challenging operation, but we are working around the clock to examine every conceivable opportunity.
“I can confirm that our operational teams have now been able to establish a new temporary freight only ferry route between Dublin-Heysham which will launch on Tuesday 17th Dec providing one round trip per day. We have also established a new temporary route on Dublin-Fishguard for passengers and freight which will be served by the Stena Adventurer.
“To support our foot passengers, we are operating a free bus service for transport between Holyhead and Fishguard for passengers with existing Holyhead – Dublin bookings.
“Extra sailings have also been introduced on our Dublin-Liverpool service provided by Stena Estrid and we are pleased that we have now secured permission to carry cars and their passengers on this route going forward.
“This unprecedented port closure has created a stressful situation for everyone involved, including both passengers and staff, so I would appeal for as much flexibility and patience as possible in the days ahead as we seek to reduce the pre-Christmas backlog.”
