The main ferry connection between Great Britain and Ireland will remain closed until 15 January at the earliest, after the port of Holyhead suffered damage during a storm earlier this month.
The weeks-long shutdown of the link between Holyhead and Dublin will wreck the plans of tens of thousands of Christmas travellers hoping to cross the Irish Sea by ferry, as well as disrupting the supply chain of goods across the Irish Sea.
A spokesperson for Holyhead Port said: “We are now able to provide an update on the current closure of the Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 ferry berths at Holyhead Port.
“Regrettably, both terminals will need to remain closed until Wednesday 15 January 2025 at the earliest. Our current priority is to establish when Terminal 5 can be re-opened safely, to resume ferry services.
“This follows two incidents affecting the Terminal 3 berth on Friday 6 December and Saturday 7 December, resulting in part of the structure collapsing and rendering it unusable.
“Whilst we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we are taking the decision now to keep the ferry berths closed until 15 January at the earliest to provide certainty for passengers, freight customers and ferry operators and allow them to make alternative arrangements ahead of one of the busiest times of the year.
“We understand the closure of the ferry terminals has had a significant impact on trade, passengers and port customers. We are sorry for the disruption this has caused. The safety of our colleagues and customers is our first priority and we will only permit ferry services to recommence once we are sure it is safe to do so. “
Two million passengers use Holyhead a year and around 1,200 lorries and trailers make the crossing every day, according to Parliament’s Welsh Affairs Committee.
Normally Stena Line and Irish Ferries have four daily ferries each way between the Anglesey and the Irish capital. Hundreds of motorists and foot passengers use the link each day, with “Rail & Sail” fares offered from stations in Wales, England and Scotland to Dublin.
Pressure on other forms of transport is leading to soaring fares. Friday’s early evening Ryanair flight from London Gatwick to Dublin, leaving at 5.45pm is currently priced at £501 one-way without baggage. On Friday’s 6.30pm British Airways departure from Heathrow to the Irish capital, one seat remains at £660. This is for business class, and includes 64kg of checked baggage.
From Bristol to Dublin on Aer Lingus, tickets for Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all priced at around £200 for a 206-mile hop.
Holyhead-Dublin is also the main freight connection between Great Britain and the Republic.
Sailings from Birkenhead to Dublin continue, as do the southern routes between Pembroke and Fishguard in southwest Wales and the Irish port of Rosslare.
A new link has been added from Fishguard to Dublin, but this takes twice as long as the ferry from Holyhead.
A spokesperson for Stena Line said: “Stena Line is offering sailings for passengers and freight from Dublin to ports in Birkenhead and Fishguard. In addition, a new freight route from Dublin to Heysham has been added to assist continuity of trade flows.”
The company has also added additional sailings on the Belfast-Cairnryan route this weekend. Currently there is limited availability on the Belfast-Liverpool and Rosslare-Fishguard routes.
“Stena Line would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and assure customers that the company is doing everything in its power to mitigate the effects of the closure on passenger and freight traffic,” the spokesperson said.
Irish Ferries said in an online statement: “We are currently contacting customers booked to travel on the route in date order to outline options available to them, including sailing on the Rosslare-Pembroke route, where we have added more space.
“We are also working with UK ports with a view to adding further sailings to/from Ireland.”