Thousands of Christmas travellers hoping to cross the Irish Sea by ferry face disruption due to Storm Darragh damage.
The port of Holyhead – which provides the main ferry connection between Great Britain and Ireland – has been closed since last weekend, with no sailings to or from Dublin.
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.
Holyhead-Dublin is also the main freight connection between Great Britain and the Republic.
The port was damaged during the wild weather that swept across Wales on 7 and 8 December. No injuries were reported.
A spokesperson for the port said: “The ferry berths have remained closed to all marine traffic. Safety is of paramount importance to Holyhead Port and a thorough investigation into the extent of the damage and repairs required is ongoing.”
“At this point, it is estimated that the berths will reopen for ferry traffic on Thursday 19 December at the earliest,” the spokesperson said.
Stena Line has cancelled all sailings between Dublin and Holyhead until Friday 20 December.
Sailings from Birkenhead to Dublin continue, as do the southern routes between Pembroke and Fishguard in southwest Wales and the Irish port of Rosslare.
“We are currently assessing options for additional sailings to our ports in Birkenhead (Liverpool) and Fishguard,” Stena Line said.
The closure has also caused concern in Ireland because of the number of Christmas parcels held up. Garrett Bridgeman, managing director of An Post, told RTE: “All the trucks that were queued up at Holyhead have been moved to Fishguard, Liverpool and other ports, all the traffic is being rerouted making its way to Ireland.”
Assuming ferries on the route have resumed before Christmas, they will pause again on 25 December. Stena’s last scheduled departure from Holyhead is 2.45pm on 24 December, resuming at 9am on Boxing Day.
