Irish Ferries new Ireland – France flagship W.B. YEATS returned from sea trials off the coast of Denmark earlier today.
The open sea trials took place off the Danish Island of Bornholm, while further trials took place in and around Flensburg Firth which straddles the border between Germany and Denmark.
In these pictures by Frank Jensen we see W.B. YEATS arriving back at the yard of her builder, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG), this morning.
As previously reported on NIFS she left the yard after dark on the 29th October for the trials.
At present it is not clear when W.B. YEATS will be handed over to Irish Ferries or enter service. ULYSSES and OSCAR WILDE are still currently scheduled to cover the Dublin to Holyhead route over Christmas. EPSILON is scheduled as the sole vessel to France during the festive period, operating between Dublin and Cherbourg.
Should W.B. YEATS arrive in time before Christmas, it is likely she will displace OSCAR WILDE on the Holyhead service as this was the route she was scheduled to be on during winter prior to her well publicised delivery delays.
Prior to delivery any changes to the vessel to be made as a result of the data gathered during the sea trials will need to be made. NIFS also notes that some further painting is still required with some visible rust streaking apparent and an as-yet unpainted section on the port side of the superstructure the vessel. Irish Ferries has yet to publish its sailing schedule to France for 2019, though it is expected this will confirm W.B. YEATS will sail to France from March 2019.
With special thanks to Frank Jensen for providing the photo’s for this feature.
