Isle of Inishmore | Irish Ferries

An overview of Isle of Inishmore

Irish Ferries ISLE OF INISHMORE is a Dutch-built Ro-Pax ferry which currently serves the Dover – Calais route. She was ordered by Irish Ferries as a replacement for the smaller ISLE OF INNISFREE on the Dublin – Holyhead service.

Following the arrival of ULYSSES in March 2001, ISLE OF INISHMORE was transferred to the Pembroke Dock service from May and ‘Innisfree’ was offered for charter.

Dover – Calais

Until 2021, ISLE OF INISHMORE had only served Irish Ferries’ services between Ireland and Wales. However, during March 2021 the company announced she would be transferred to a new route between Dover and Calais from June.

This is not the first time ISLE OF INISHMORE has been linked with the Calais route. During 1999, SeaFrance had considered chartering her for its Dover – Calais route as part of its fleet modernisation program. As the ship would not be available until well after ULYSSES delivery in 2001, SeaFrance opted to order a bespoke new-build ferry (SEAFRANCE RODIN) instead. During 2001, P&O Stena Line had also reportedly investigated chartering the vessel, but Irish Continental Group were reluctant to allow them to make the necessary modifications to the ship.

Capacity

ISLE OF INISHMORE was built to accommodate up to 2,200 passengers and up to 855 cars, or 122 x 16.2m freight units. Her actual passenger capacity was lowered in recent years, however, due to the removal of life rafts. Having been built for the three hour Dublin to Holyhead route, she has extensive passenger facilities on board. Please see below for further details on this vessel.

Name

ISLE OF INISHMORE is named after the biggest of the Aran Islands (located near the mouth of Galway Bay). Her name literally translates from Irish to English as “Big Island”.

Design

ISLE OF INISHMORE is based on STENA JUTLANDICA in terms of basic overall design¹. However, there were some significant changes made for the Irish Ferries vessel.

Differences to Stena Jutlandica

A common misconception is that STENA JUTLANDICA and ISLE OF INISHMORE are direct sister-ships. This is not the case. Although both ferries share a similar external appearance and were built by the same yard, there are significant differences between the two vessels. They do share a common standardised hull form though.

For their new ship, Irish Ferries opted for Sulzer (now Wärtsilä) engines in place of the MAN units fitted to STENA JUTLANDICA. ISLE OF INISHMORE also has a very different accommodation layout to Stena’s ship. This reflects the different demands of the Irish Sea trade she was designed for and her higher passenger capacity.

As Irish Ferries did not serve any ports with a shore-to-ship railway connection, they did not require railway tracks to be fitted as on the Stena vessel. Nor was ISLE OF INISHMORE fitted with side ramps like STENA JUTLANDICA.

Although STENA JUTLANDICA is around 2 metres longer than ISLE OF INISHMORE, the latter has a significantly greater gross tonnage. This is on account of ‘Inishmore’s’ extended superstructure which enables her to carry significantly more passengers than her part-sister.

In common with other Irish Ferries new-build ferries, ISLE OF INISHMORE is built to Ice Class 1A standards. This is to maximise potential charter opportunities should the ship become surplus to requirements in the Irish Ferries fleet.

As-built, ISLE OF INISHMORE was equipped with 49 4-berth passenger cabins and a total of 2,350 seats for passengers onboard. In contrast to many other van der Giessen new-build ferries, Irish Continental Group appointed their own interior designer of choice, Claus P. Horn, to design the interior of ISLE OF INISHMORE. As of March 2021, this interior design remains largely unchanged.

Dover – Calais Modifications

After she was released from the Rosslare – Pembroke Dock route by BLUE STAR 1 in April 2021, ISLE OF INISHMORE sailed to the Damen shipyard in Brest for dry docking. Whilst there, she underwent a thorough technical overhaul. On May 15, she arrived at the Fayard shipyard in Odense, Denmark.

While at Odense, modifications were made to both ISLE OF INISHMORE’s bow and stern access arrangements for compatibility with the infrastructure at Dover and Calais. Her large stern ramp was removed and replaced with steelwork incorporating a door, and a ‘cow-catcher*’ was added to her bow.

These modifications were required as the shoreside infrastructure at both Dover and Calais requires shore-to-ship ramps to be used, rather than the ship-to-shore ramps commonly used elsewhere such as at Dublin.

* A cow-catcher is a steel framework added to the bow of a ship which allows a shore-to-ship ramp to rest on the vessel.

Isle of Inishmore Passenger Facilities

The majority of the public facilities on ISLE OF INISHMORE are housed on decks 7 and 8. All passenger cabin accommodation is located on Deck 9 which also has outside deck spaces. The Club Class premium sky lounge is located on Deck 11 and has outside deck access.

Please note that ISLE OF INISHMORE was partially refurbished during 2021, and so the appearance of some areas may have changed. Some newer images are available in this article.

Isle of Inishmore, deck by deck

Deck 7

The forward part of ISLE OF INISHMORE’s Deck 7 is dominated by the Kilronan Motorists Club, which also incorporates Café Lafayette. O’Flaherty’s Pub and the veranda occupy the aft part of the deck.

A lounge area and the reception desk/bureau de change occupy the midships space on this deck.

Passenger Facilities – deck 7

• Café Lafayette
• O’Flaherty’s pub (seasonal)
• Reception desk with bureau de change
• Veranda
• Gaming machines

Isle of Inishmore deck 7 plan

Deck 8

The main restaurant, Boylan’s Brasserie is located forward on Deck 8. Freight drivers are also looked after in a dedicated lounge to the port side of Boylan’s. ISLE OF INISHMORE’s large Duty Free shop is located on the port side midships. The remainder of this deck is dominated by lounge spaces, with the veranda aft.

Passenger Facilities – deck 8

• Boylan’s Brasserie (previously branded as the Burren Buttery)
• Freight Drivers Club
• Duty Free Shop / Click and Collect
• Cyber Zone
• Druids Delights (cafe)
• Children’s Play Area
• Veranda

Isle of Inishmore deck 8 plan

Deck 9

This is a cabin deck, although outside deck space is also available to passengers

Passenger Facilities – deck 9

• Inside cabins
• Outside cabins
• Disabled cabins
• Two outside deck spaces
• Conference room

Deck 10

There are no passenger facilities on deck 10. Access is exclusively for crew members.

Deck 11

The only indoor passenger facility on this deck is the ‘Dun Aengus’ Club Class sky lounge. Outside deck space is also available.

The navigational bridge is also situated on deck 11. Please note that there is no lift access to deck 11.

Isle of Inishmore Technical Data

	Isle of Inishmore
IMO Number	91426052
Callsign	C4HQ23
Class	van der Giessen “second generation” (27.8m beam) Ro-Pax
Building Yard	van der Giessen- de Noord NV31 5.8 m (moulded)1, Krimpen aan den IJssel, The Netherlands
Hull Number	#9683
Design	van der Giessen- de Noord NV
Interior Design	Claus P. Horn, Denmark
Contract Date	25.09.1995
Steel Cutting Started	07.10.1995
Completion / Delivery	3
Hull Number	#9683
Certification	Lloyds Register of Shipping 100A1 ROLL ON – ROLL OFF CARGO & PASSENGER SHIP, *IWS, ICE CLASS 1A3
Additional Class Notations	LMC, UMS3
Owner	Irish Ferries (Irish Continental Group PLC)
Current Operator	Irish Ferries
Vessel Management	Matrix Ship Management
In service (Stena Line)	March 2, 1997 (Dublin - Holyhead)
Usual Route	Dover - Calais (from June 29, 2021)
Length Overall	182.5 m
Length B.P.	169.05 m
Beam	27.8 m (moulded)3
Draught	6 m (scantling)31 5.8 m (moulded)1
Gross Tonnage	34,031 gt3
Deadweight	5,8603
Number of Decks	11
Main Propulsion	4 x Sulzer 8ZA40S main engines, each producing 5,760 kW at 510 rpm Each pair of engines drives a two-input-one-output gearbox, each of which drives a single propeller via a shaft at 150 rpm1 2 x LIPS 4.8m diameter four bladed controllable pitch propellers1
Other Machinery	2 x LIPS bow thrusters producing 2,400 kW each1 2 x Becker Rudders 2 x 11m-long Fincantieri retractable fin stabilisers1
Power (Max)	23,040 kW / 31,325 bhp1
Design Speed	21.5 kts1
Passenger Capacity	Up to 2,200 (as-built)
Crew	Variable depending on passenger demand Berths for up to 140 crew are provided in 113 cabins as-built
Passenger Cabins	Total of 186 berths
Vehicle capacity	122 x 16.2 metre freight units Up to 855 passenger cars (depending on volume of freight carried)
Lane Metre Breakdown	Deck 3 (main vehicle deck), 4.9m free height: 1,000 lm1 Deck 5 (upper vehicle deck), 4.9m free height: 1,060lm1 Deck 6 (mezzanine car deck), 2.1m free height: 830 lm (plus up to 1060 lm on Deck 5 below)1* *When the plates of Deck 6 are deployed, free height of the corresponding area on Deck 5 reduces as well.
Vehicle access	Twin-level-drive-through loading configuration with direct access via bow and stern doors on decks 3 and 5.1 A 3.23m wide tilting ramp between decks 3 and 5 allows both decks to be accessed via single-level shoreside facilities if required. A total of 40 Reefer sockets are provided
Access Equipment	Kvaerner1
Flag state (port)	Cyprus (Limassol)3
As-built sister-ships	None. STENA JUTLANDICA shares a common hull form

Key Dates – Isle of Inishmore

Please note that this section is still under construction.

25.09.1995	Contract date
07.10.1995	Steel cutting started
08.12.1995	Keel laid
04.10.1996	Launched
	Start of sea trials
	Sea trials completed
14.02.1997	Delivered to Irish Continental Group
17.02.1997	Maiden arrival in Dublin4
02.03.1997	Introduction to service, Dublin – Holyhead route replacing ISLE OF INNISFREE
08.02.1999 – ?	Dry-docking at Sobrena, Brest5
01.02.2000 – 15.02.2000	Dry dock at Brest
25.03.2001	Final sailing as a permanent vessel on the on the Dublin – Holyhead route having been replaced by the brand-new ULYSSES.
27.03.2001	Dry-docking at A&P Appledore, Falmouth.
21.04.2001	Left Queen Elizabeth dry dock but had to take shelter due to weather.
22.04.2001	Berthing trials at Rosslare
24.04.2001	Arrived at Dublin for layup whilst her future and that of fleet-mate ISLE OF INNISFREE was decided. P&O Stena Line had expressed an interest in chartering ISLE OF INISHMORE and reportedly spent two days onboard while the ship was in dry dock, but wanted to make significant modifications to the ship.
16.05.2001	Replaced ISLE OF INNISFREE on the Rosslare – Pembroke Dock service after it was decided to charter out Innisfree instead of Inishmore following interest from a new Italian company and Stena Line Sweden.
23.01.2002 –	Dry-docking at A&P Southampton6
13.02.2003 –	Dry dock at A&P Falmouth
22.01.2004 – 06.02.2004	Dry dock at A&P Birkenhead
January 2005	Dry dock at Harland & Wolff Belfast
28.01.2006 – 10.02.2006	Dry dock at North Western Ship Repairers, Birkenhead. ISLE OF INISHMORE also moved from the Irish to the Cypriot registry during this period, and her home port was changed from Dublin to Limassol.
January 2007	Dry-docking with JONATHAN SWIFT at Harland & Wolff Belfast
30.07.2008	A small fire, originating from the thermal oil heater, broke out in the engine room on arrival at Pembroke Dock. The fire was quickly brought under control and there were no casualties7.
12.11.2008 – ?	Dry-docking at Harland & Wolff Belfast
16.01.2010? – 21.01.2010	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
12.01.2011 – 27.01.2011	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
15.01.2012 –	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
January 15, 2013	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
January 2015	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
January 2017	Dry dock at Falmouth
February 2019	Dry dock at Cammell Laird Birkenhead
26.03.2020	Irish Ferries announces that ISLE OF INISHMORE will be redeployed to a new Dover -Calais route from June. Her place on the Pembroke – Rosslare service is to be taken by BLUE STAR 1.
06.04.2020 (20:00 approx.)	Left Rosslare for Brest having been released by BLUE STAR 1 earlier that day.
07.04.2021 (13:20 approx.)	Arrived at Damen Brest for dry docking lasting around 20 days in dry dock no 2. Work to be undertaken includes maintenance to the bow thrusters, rudders, propeller hubs, ballast water treatment system, ventilation, and hull painting.
12.05.2021 (12:00 UTC+2 approx.)	Left Brest with a rumoured destination of Odense for further work.
15.05.2021 (01:00 UTC+2 approx.)	Arrived at Fayard, Odense, Denmark. Work undertaken included the removal of the stern ramp and the addition of new steelwork and watertight door to make the ship compatible with Dover. A “cow catcher” was also added to the bow for compatibility with the linkspans at Calais.
16.06.2021 (approx. 17:25 UTC +2)	Left Odense for Dover (via Gothenburg)
16.06.2021 (approx. 23:30 UTC)	At anchor in the Kattegat. Took on bunkers from the tanker AALBORG from 05:15 UTC approx. on 17.06.21)
19.06.2021	First arrival at Dover and Calais
29.06.2021	ISLE OF INISHMORE entered service on the Dover – Calais route
20.10.2021	Berthing trials at the new Calais Port 2015

Isle of Inishmore Gallery

Acknowledgements

With special thanks to David Faerder, Poul Erik Olsen, and Peter Therkildsen for their assistance with this feature. Additional information was obtained from an undated IHC Merwede data sheet on Isle of Inishmore.

1. Brogren, K. (Ed.). (1997). ISLE OF INISHMORE. Shippax Designs 97. [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
2. https://classdirect.lr.org/. 2020. Lloyds Register Class Direct. [online] Available at: <https://classdirect.lr.org/>> [Accessed 09 April 2021]. [↩]
3. https://classdirect.lr.org/. 2020. Lloyds Register Class Direct. [online] Available at: <https://classdirect.lr.org/>> [Accessed 09 April 2021]. [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
4. Humphreys, J. (1997, February 18). New ferry rides out stormy seas but falters at the ramp. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/new-ferry-rides-out-stormy-seas-but-falters-at-the-ramp-1.43780 [↩]
5. Person, & Télégramme, L. (1999, February 12). Le ferry irlandais : ” isle of inishmore ” en carénage. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.letelegramme.fr/ar/viewarticle1024.php?aaaammjj=19990213&article=19990213-5164105&type=ar [↩]
6. Irish ferries dock with A&P Group. (2002, March 25). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.marinelink.com/news/ferries-irish-group321457 [↩]
7. Marine Accident Branch. (2016, February 29). Fire in engine room of ro-ro passenger ferry isle of inishmore. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/fire-in-engine-room-of-ro-ro-passenger-ferry-isle-of-inishmore-in-pembroke-dock-england [↩]