Local (NI) ferry news

All the latest local ferry news from Northern Ireland including news concerning the ferry services to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, as well as internal services.  News of vessels visiting local waters is also covered here.

Quickie: European Seaway (and Larne refits) delayed.

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A quick check of the P&O timetable from next weekend (when EUROPEAN SEAWAY had previously been displayed as in service from Larne) indicates that she will NOT now be in service.  The reason for the delay is not yet clear, however work appears to be continuing at Larne to make the berth suitable for EUROPEAN SEAWAY, which is significantly longer than the regular vessels EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY and EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER.  At present it looks as though EUROPEAN SEAWAY will be in service from the following weekend, with EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER off the timetable from Saturday 6th May. Update:  It appears the cause of the delay is NORBAY‘s dry-docking at Cammell-Laird over-running by about a week, with NORBANK and EUROPEAN ENDEAVOUR the only vessels showing on the passenger timetable until Friday 5th May.  The vehicle carrier NEPTUNE AEGLI is covering NORBAY‘s schedule

Latest local ferry news (wk2 April ’17)

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A quick roundup of local ferry news from the past couple of weeks. Carlingford Lough Ferry to start later this year. Scenic Carlingford ferry have announced that they expect the service between Greenore (Co. Louth) and Greencastle (Co. Down), which has caused controversy in some quarters, to begin this coming June.  It is expected that the vessel to be used on the service will be the former (Magilligan to Greencastle (Co. Donegal)) Lough Foyle Ferry FOYLE VENTURE (ex Shannon Willow) which is owned by parent company, Frazer Ferries. FOYLE VENTURE is currently laid up at Wicklow EDIT 14/4/17 operating on the Passage East ferry service across the River Suir in place of FDB TINTERN, having undertaken berthing trials at both Passage East ferry (also owned by Frazer Ferries) terminals on the way to Wicklow.  The Carlingford Lough Ferry service had been given the go-ahead as far back as March 2014, but has been … Read more

Stena Line Dry Dock update / temporary timetable change

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Stena Performer entered Harland and Wolff’s Belfast Dry Dock this morning, re-commencing Stena Line’s Irish Sea refit program for 2017. Sister-ship Stena Precision will follow once Stena Performer has finished. Stena Precision is due back in service on the 2nd of May so I assume Performer will not dry dock until around the 20th. Birkenhead service timetable change For the duration of this final dry dock period, there will be no Belfast to Birkenhead freight shoulder service.  However, Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey will operate a full timetable of 2 daily sailings each way. This includes on Mondays when normally there is only one sailing each way with the vessels laying over in the morning/afternoon.  Stena Hibernia will work the Belfast-Heysham freight service opposite whichever of the 2 FSG sister ships is not in dry dock for the duration. Title image: Stena Performer in drydock April 2017.  Copyright © Scott Mackey.  … Read more

Stena Superfast VII back in service tomorrow.

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Stena Superfast VII is to return to service with tomorrows 19:30 sailing from Belfast to Cairnryan (Loch Ryan Port) according to the Stena Line booking website. It had previously been expected that the Stena Nordica would continue to cover Stena Superfast VII’s schedule into Sunday.

P&O Larne-Cairnryan refit/dry-dock dates 2017.

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P&O’s Larne to Cairnryan vessels European Causeway and European Highlander are expected to go for dry docking between the 28th April and 2nd June this year.  European Highlander will be first, heading for Cammell-Laird Birkenhead on 28th of April.  She will return on the 15th of May, allowing European Causeway to take her turn at Cammell-Laird. Throughout the dry-docking period P&O’s Dover based “Super Freighter” European Seaway will provide cover, becoming the largest ferry to ever operate a scheduled service from Larne in the process.  This will be the first time European Seaway has visited Northern Ireland, with dry-docking periods in recent years normally covered by Dublin-Liverpool’s Norbay.  Due to her length (around 10m longer than the limit stated on the Port of Larne website) NIFS expect that she will use the MacKean Quay berth in Larne, which is the longest berth available at the port.  MacKean Quay also has the twin-tier linkspan European Seaway will need to be able to … Read more

European Seaway to operate Larne to Cairnryan in May?

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According to the P&O online booking engine, this years refit cover vessel for Larne will be the Dover-Calais freighter European Seaway.  Previously it had been stated by the same booking engine that Norbay would cover the operation, as in previous years.   European Seaway was built for P&O by the now defunct Schichau-Seebeckwerft shipyard in Germany, and entered service in 1991.  She was to be the first of 4 European Class “super-freighters” built for the Dover-Zeebrugge route, but is the only one that remains as a freighter with the final vessel, Pride of Burgundy (originally to have been called European Causeway), completed as a passenger ferry as new.  The remaining 2 sisters European Highway and European Pathway were rebuilt as Pride of Kent and Pride of Canterbury at Lloyd Werft in 2003.  European Seaway can accommodate up to 124 x 15m freight units and 200 passengers.   P&O’s refit period for European Causeway and … Read more

Stena Nordica in service.

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Just a quick update: Stena Nordica is now operating in place of Stena Superfast VII between Belfast and Cairnryan.  Stena Superfast VII has replaced Stena Superfast VIII to allow her to go for refit at Harland and Wolff. Apologies for the lack of updates recently, this is due to a period of illness. Title image: Stena Nordica in Dublin on 27/12/16.  She is the Stena Line Irish Sea refit relief vessel this year.  Copyright © Gordon Hislip.

PR: Stena Line’s four new vessels planned for Belfast routes.

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Last year Stena announced a newbuild contract of four RoPax ferry vessels with a planned delivery schedule during 2019 and 2020. The contract also contains an option for another four vessels to be ordered. The four vessels are being built at the AVIC Shipyard in China and the plan is to locate the vessels on the Irish Sea, specifically on Stena Line’s routes to and from its expanding Belfast hub.

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