SHIPPING NEWS

Stena Line and Irish Ferries Call for Restoration of the Common Travel Area into Ireland

Irish Ferries and Stena Line, the two key players in Ireland’s ferry industry, are calling for the reopening of the Common Travel Area (CTA) at the earliest opportunity.

They also welcome comments made by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, when he talked about the possibility of restoring the Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and Britain as an “initial first step” for the travel and tourism sectors. With virus levels now low in Ireland and the UK, and vaccination programmes progressing in both countries, Irish Ferries and Stena Line are calling on Ministers and industry stakeholders to urgently look at restoring the long-standing CTA agreement for Irish and UK citizens, and permit unrestricted travel between Britain and the island of Ireland. Paul Grant, Trade Director for the Irish Sea, at Stena Line said: “COVID-19 infections are now at low levels and vaccination levels are increasing significantly in both countries. In the UK for example 66% of adults have now received their first dose and 30% have had both, so there is now a real need to focus on solving some of the economic impacts of the pandemic, and an obvious starting point are the hard-hit tourist, hospitality and travel sectors. “With the restoring of travel between the islands of Ireland and Britain, we can start to rebuild these sectors locally in advance of the full resumption of international travel, which may take more time to agree and deliver.” Andrew Sheen, Managing Director for Irish Ferries commented: “The ferry industry has played a key role in helping to keep vital food and medical supply lines open during the height of the pandemic. With the current UK infection rate of 48 cases per 100,000 population comparable to the lowest in Europe, we need to acknowledge the shared land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and eliminate the discrepancies and loopholes on travel restrictions on the island. Irish Ferries and Stena Line welcome the Tánaiste’s recent comments on the possibility of restoring the CTA in advance of the full resumption of international travel and would urge the Irish Government to prioritise its implementation.” The issue with the CTA has arisen due to differing approaches by the Irish and UK governments. The Irish Government requires passengers from Britain to have a negative PCR test and they must also quarantine for 14 days on arrival. The UK Government has never imposed requirements for testing or quarantine for people travelling from anywhere on the island of Ireland to Britain. The Northern Ireland Assembly also has never imposed testing or quarantine on anyone travelling from Britain. Both companies are also stressing that they need time to prepare for the resumption of travel. Urgent clarity is needed regarding dates so that the ferry companies can ensure they are ready from an operational perspective.

Belfast Harbour Invests £2.5m in Refurbishment of Belfast - Heysham Terminal 1

Belfast Harbour plans to undertake a full refurbishment of the Victoria Terminal 1 Roll-on Roll-off ferry berth this summer, from which Stena Line operate their successful Belfast to Heysham freight service.

The programme of work, which represents a £2.5million investment by Belfast Harbour, will effectively renew and modernise the terminal infrastructure, extending its life span for a further 25 years. Work will include refurbishment of the berth ramp, the access walkways and the fenders. Local contractor McLaughlin & Harvey has been engaged to deliver the project, which is due to commence in early summer. To facilitate these works the Belfast-Heysham service will operate from the Ballast Quay Terminal during the summer period. Belfast Harbour has continued its long-term investment programme in port infrastructure in recent years, including the £40million redevelopment of Victoria Terminal 3 container terminal, with more than £20million invested in new cranes, and the installation of a new £15million two tier linkspan ramp at Victoria Terminal 2 ferry terminal to accommodate Stena’s new Embla and Edda vessels on the Belfast- Liverpool route. Michael Robinson, Port Director, Belfast Harbour said: “We are continuing to invest in our port infrastructure and equipment that will help us achieve our goal of becoming the best regional port in the world. “Roll-On-Roll-Off freight, including on the Belfast to Heysham route, performed strongly last year, reflecting the importance of our freight traffic routes to Scotland and England and the essential supply chains we serve to the Northern Ireland economy. We want our facilities to be best in class and having undertaken a full structural assessment of the VT1 facilities we believe that making this £2.5million investment now will provide both this standard and a long-term life extension for the terminal.” John Mariner, McLaughlin & Harvey Contracts Director, said: “We are delighted to deliver another project for Belfast Harbour; building on our successful long-term relationship which includes Victoria Terminals 3 and 4. This project will be delivered using a local supply chain, and will utilise our extensive marine civil engineering expertise to support the harbour in its programme of continual investment to improve facilities in the port.”

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