Part of Holyhead ferry port to reopen in January
By William Warnes, PA
Part of the Holyhead ferry port will reopen on January 16th, 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.
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 6th-7th, 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.
Taoiseach 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.”
