Part of Holyhead ferry port to reopen in January
Part of the Holyhead ferry port will reopen on January 16, after damage caused by Storm Darragh meant it was forced to close over the Christmas period.
The ferry company Stena Line, which owns the port in Anglesey, North Wales, confirmed it would reopen the Terminal 5 berth subject to reasonable weather conditions.
It is yet to provide a timeline for the reopening of Terminal 3.
Timeline
A statement on Monday said: “After diligent assessments and planning, we can now confirm that the timeline for reopening the Holyhead Terminal 5 ferry berth by January 16 2025 remains achievable.
“This prediction is subject to reasonable weather conditions, and we will provide further updates as our progress continues.”
All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead have been cancelled over recent weeks, affecting thousands of people travelling to and from Ireland over the festive period.
Stena Line said that on the weekend Storm Darragh hit, December 6-7, there were two incidents at the berth at Terminal 3.
It said that this resulted in part of the structure collapsing and rendering it unusable.
Damage was feared to have been much worse than initially thought and a spokesman for the Port said it had been necessary to perform underwater inspections of the structural integrity of the adjacent Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 berths.
Review
Irish premier Simon Harris said earlier this month that the “seriousness” of the damage was becoming “more apparent as the days go by”.
On the latest announcement, Stena Line added: “Up until the reopening of the Terminal 5 berth, alternative routes for travel include Birkenhead to Dublin (motorists only), Fishguard to Dublin, Fishguard to Rosslare, Cairnryan to Belfast and Liverpool to Belfast.”
A spokesman for Irish Ferries said: “With clarity now on the situation for the coming weeks, Irish Ferries will continue to review what further route measures are required to ensure the needs of its passenger and freight customers are met.
“With a phased re-opening plan of Holyhead port that involves more limited berth availability, Irish Ferries has agreed a timetable with the other operator that will allow Irish Ferries to operate full schedules into Terminal 5.”
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UK infrastructure is a mess.
I wouldn’t disagree with that assertion! But in fairness the last time I recall winds as ferocious as storm Darragh was way back in the mid-70s when I was living in upland Radnorshire. Arwen back in 2021 was bad, but Darragh’s gale was worse even though, at least where I live, it carried less rain. I’m not really surprised at the extent of damage on the west coast.
No apology from Irish Ferries for the MV James Joyce hitting the berth on the 6th and on the 7th the MV Ulysses finishing it off.
The only statement they have said was; “its nothing to do with us”