Irish Ferries
| |
Division | |
Industry | Transportation & Tourism |
Predecessor | B&I Line; Irish Continental Line |
Founded | 1973 |
Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Number of locations | Dublin Port, Ireland, Holyhead Port, Wales, Rosslare Europort, Ireland, Pembroke Dock, Wales, Cherbourg, France & Roscoff, France |
Area served | United Kingdom, Ireland & France. |
Key people | Eamonn Rothwell, CEO, Andrew Sheen Managing Director |
Services | Passenger & vehicle transportation, Freight transportation; |
Parent | Irish Continental Group |
Divisions | Irish Ferries; Eucon |
Subsidiaries | Irish Ferries Freight; Dublin Ferryport Terminals; Belfast Container Terminal |
Website |
www |
Irish Ferries is a maritime transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin Port-Cherbourg and Rosslare to Cherbourg and Roscoff in France
The company is a division of the Irish Continental Group (ICG) which trades on the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. ICG also owns the Eucon container line which operates vessels on routes operating between Ireland and the continent.
Irish Ferries' flagship, MV Ulysses, is currently the largest ROPAX ferry operating on the Irish Sea and when launched in 2001 was the world's largest car ferry in terms of car-carrying capacity. Other ships in the fleet include MS Isle of Inishmore, MS Oscar Wilde and the fast ferry MV Dublin Swift (preceded by HSC Jonathan Swift, which operated until 2018). The company also charters in a ro-pax vessel, MS Epsilon. The company used to charter MV Kaitaki which was sold to Interisland Line and Pride of Bilbao, but sold her to St. Peter Line in 2013, who renamed her Princess Anastasia. Two additional ships are under construction, with MV W.B. Yeats expected to enter service in 2018 and the second vessel ordered in January 2018 for a 2020 delivery.[1]
History
Irish Continental Line was formed in 1973 as a joint venture between Irish Shipping, Fearnley & Eger and Swedish company Lion Ferry.[2] It originally operated on the Rosslare–Le Havre route with the 547 berth, 210 car ferry Saint Patrick.[3] When Irish Shipping went into liquidation in 1984, Irish Continental Line was sold off in a management buyout and emerged as Irish Continental Group.
In 1992, ICG took over the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited, a nationalised company which traded under the name B + I Line and operated ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead and between Rosslare and Pembroke Dock.
Investment
As part of its offer to buy B&I Line, management at ICG undertook to invest in replacing what was an ageing fleet. Over the following decade, a programme of fleet renewal was undertaken involving investment of €500 million to create what was described as the most modern ferry fleet in western Europe (1).
New vessels were built such as Ulysses, Isle of Innisfree (now on charter in New Zealand as Kaitaki), Isle of Inishmore and a fast ferry Jonathan Swift, all for service on its Ireland–UK routes. As a result, the company put itself in a position to attract increased passenger and freight business, influenced by the modern facilities and improved reliability of each vessel and the extra capacity that was available on board.
On 31 May 2016, ICG announced that it had entered into an agreement with the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft to build a cruise ferry MV W.B. Yeats at a contract price of €144 million. The new cruise ferry will accommodate 1,885 passengers and crew, with 435 cabins and with capacity for 2,800 lane metres of freight (165 freight vehicles) plus an additional dedicated car deck with capacity for 300 passenger cars.[4] Summer 2018 bookings for the new ferry were cancelled due to delays in its delivery.[5]
Awards
In 2001, the newly completed vessel Ulysses was awarded the title 'Most Significant Newbuild – Ferry' by Lloyds List Cruise & Ferry.[6]
Fleet
In 2005, Irish Ferries began to re-register its fleet under flags of convenience[7][8], enabling the company to save approximately €11.5 million[9] by replacing crew with agency staff. As of February 2018, all vessels owned by Irish Ferries or Irish Continental Group are registered in either the Bahamas or Cyprus
Ship | Built | Entered Service | Route | Crossing Times | Gross Tonnage | Notes | Flag |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ulysses | 2001 | 2001 | Dublin Port–Holyhead | 3 hours 15 minutes | 50,938 GT | The largest ro-pax ferry currently (2017) operating on the Irish Sea, carrying up to 1,875 passengers and 1,342 cars. | Cyprus |
Isle of Inishmore | 1997 | 1997 | Rosslare Europort - Pembroke Dock | 4 hours | 34,031 GT | Carrying up to 2,200 passengers and 855 cars. | Cyprus |
Oscar Wilde | 1987 | 2007 | Rosslare - Cherbourg/Roscoff | 16–17 hours | 31,914 GT | Carrying up to 1,458 passengers, 580 cars and with 1,376 beds. | Bahamas |
Dublin Swift | 1999 | 2000 | Dublin Port - Holyhead | 1 hour 49 minutes | 2,111 GT | 1May be specified in gross tonnage (GT) or gross register tons (GRT). | Cyprus |
Epsilon | 2011 | 2014 | Dublin-Holyhead Dublin Port–Cherbourg | 3 hrs 25 minutes 19 hours | 26,375 GT | Chartered from Cartour S.r.l. Operating Dublin - Holyhead (mid-week) & Dublin - Cherbourg (week-ends). | Italy |
Former ships
- This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Ship | Years in service | Gross Register Tonnage | Status as of 2008 |
---|---|---|---|
Saint Patrick | 1972–1982 | 7,819 GRT [10] | In 1982 renamed the St. Colum 1 and transferred to Belfast Car Ferries.[11] Scrapped as EXPRESS P at Alang, India in August 2005 |
Saint Killian Saint Killian II | 1978–1981 1982–1997 | 7,125 GRT 10,256 GRT | Scrapped in Alang, 2007 |
Saint Patrick II | 1982–1997 | 7,984 GRT | Since 2002 sailing as MS C.T.M.A. Vacancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien |
Isle of Inishmore Isle of Inishturk | 1995–1996 1996–1997 | 6,807 GRT | Since 1997 sailing as Madeleine for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien. |
Normandy | 1998–2007 | 17,043 GRT | sold to Equinox Offshore Accommodation and chartered to the Morocco-based Ferrimaroc. Scrapped in Alang, 2012. |
Pride of Bilbao | 1993–2010 2010 | 37,799 GRT | Sailed under charter to P&O Ferries. Sold to St. Peter Line in 2014. |
Kaitaki Isle of Innisfree | 1995-1997 | 22,365 GT | Sold to Interisland Line in 2017. |
Thomas Wehr | 1992 | 7,628 GRT |
References
- ↑ "Irish Continental Group Orders World's Largest Cruise Ferry". World Maritime News. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ↑ Smith, P.C. (2012). Offshore Ferry Services of England and Scotland: A Useful Guide to the Shipping Lines and Routes. Pen & Sword Books Limited. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-84884-665-4. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Irish Ferries". Irish Ferries Enthusiasts Group. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ↑ O'Brien, Ciara (1 June 2016). "Irish Continental Group to spend €144m building cruise ferry". Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ↑ Ó Conghaile, Pól. "Irish Ferries cancels all summer sailings on new WB Yeats ferry". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ↑ ‘Irish Ferries – An Ambitious Voyage’ by Miles Cowsill and Justin Merrigan
- ↑ "Flying the flag of greed". The Irish Times. 29 September 2005. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ↑ "Irish Ferries flies flag of convenience". Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ↑ "Irish Ferries dispute finally resolved after bitter stand-off". EurWORK. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ↑ "EXPRESS P - 7302885 - RO-RO/PASSENGER SHIP - Maritime-Connector.com". maritime-connector.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
Bibliography
- Cowsill, Miles; Merrigan, Justin (2013). Irish Ferries: An Ambitious Voyage. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781906608606.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irish Ferries. |