Irish Ferries stopped taking further bookings for services between Rosslare and Pembroke on Sunday as the closure of Holyhead port continued to impact ferry sailings on the Irish Sea.
Stena Line has launched a temporary daily ferry route from Dublin to Fishguard, accessible to all traffic types – motorists, foot passengers and freight. 23:00 ex Dublin reaching Fishguard at 06:00 with an onward train at 06:50 from the station at the ferry terminal. The sailing ex Fishguard is at 09:00 reaching Dublin at 15:30.
Stena Line have not been given permission to carry motorists and foot passengers from Liverpool (Birkenhead) to Dublin considering there is no other motorist/foot passenger operator on that route to my knowledge..
The Dublin to London Eurolines coach is rerouting through Rosslare-Pembroke, reminiscent of historical service diversions during the Menai Bridge closure.
Irish hauliers have requested a temporary relaxation of driving hours and rest times due to delays caused by the ongoing closure, which has affected transport schedules.
A derogation was signed to extend weekly driving limits from 56 to 60 hours, but this only applies within Ireland, prompting calls for equivalent measures in England, Wales, and Scotland, where diverted haulers face an extended trip to Cairnryan.
Concerns have been raised by the Irish Road Haulage Association about the lack of information on the repairs at Holyhead, with reopening delays potentially affecting freight movements before Christmas. Holyhead would have processed 1,000 freight trailers a day
The damage at Holyhead has forced hauliers to reroute to Cairnryan, extending travel times significantly, and leading to pressures related to driver availability during the holiday season.
Holyhead port shared: “We understand that the closure of the port has had a significant impact on trade, passengers and port customers and we are aware of the disruption this has caused. The safety of all persons involved in the berthing arrangements; including our staff, contractors and of course our customers is our number one priority and we will only permit ferry services to recommence once we are sure it is safe to do so.”
Ger Hyland, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association shared “unless we get a derogation on the far side it is of no real benefit to us. What we want is our department to go out tomorrow morning to their Westminster counterparts and get the same derogation as we get here..
“IInitially we were supposed to be up and running on Monday, then it was Tuesday now its Thursday of this coming week, we don’t know, we’re hearing rumours that its not going to happen on Thursday. If it doesn’t open on Thursday, you’re into the New Year before it’s opened”
There will be “freight on both sides of the Irish Sea that is not going to make it” to its intended destination before Christmas. Come the middle of next week, we’ll be competing with car traffic, with people looking to move to and fro between Ireland and England for the Christmas, and there’s very limited availability at the present time and its going to be really compounded come the middle of next week.
It’s taking between 24 and 48 hours extra to get back to Ireland now, the reason being we have a lot more travel to do now than we had when we were going to Holyhead port, we’re going to Cairnryan [in Scotland]now and that’s taken between five and eight hours drive to get us there.”
The industry is facing the biggest disruption to Holyhead since the 1970-1972 Menai Bridge closure when all sailings were diverted from Holyhead to Heysham (Into Dún Laoghaire rather than Dublin in those days).
