Holyhead Port to remain closed until January 15th at the earliest

Eva Osborne

It has been announced that the ferry berths at Holyhead Port will remain closed until at least January 15th, 2025.

All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead are cancelled until this time.

Stena Line has said it is currently in the process of contacting all affected passengers.

"We understand the disruption this causes and are working hard to offer alternative travel options," the transport company said.

Passengers who were booked to travel on Dublin – Holyhead from December 20th onwards can transfer their booking free of charge and with no fare difference payable to alternative routes.

Irish Ferries has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to say that it is now cancelling Holyhead/Dublin sailings to end January 15th, 2025, and is contacting customers with alternatives, including the Pembroke/Rosslare route.

With the closure of Holyhead port, Irish Ferries is now cancelling Holyhead/Dublin sailings to end 15 Jan 25 and is contacting customers with alternatives, including the Pembroke/Rosslare route.
See https://t.co/jw5JzvfOkI for info.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/B2vszosdB5

— Irish Ferries (@Irish_Ferries) December 17, 2024

The closure of Holyhead Port is causing "massive problems" as it is responsible for 60 per cent of the freight into Ireland, according to the chief executive of Tranzaura, a Limerick-based transport technology company.

Shane Mann said: "You take 60 per cent out of any system, and it causes massive problems.

“Given the time of year, trying to find that extra capacity to solve the problem is a huge challenge.”

There has been huge concern for companies and postal services as the backlog of shipping poses a big challenge in the run-up to Christmas following the damages caused at Holyhead during Storm Darragh.

Damage done to Holyhead port during Storm Darragh is feared to be worse than originally thought, and could see ferry services cancelled until after Christmas.

This could result in Christmas parcels travelling to and from Ireland being delayed until after the festive season.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said on Monday the “seriousness” of the damage was becoming “more apparent as the days go by”.