Just one of Holyhead Port’s damaged piers is to reopen to ferry traffic from next Thursday, it has been confirmed.
However, port owner Stena Line said the opening would provide access for both Stena Line and Irish Ferries ships which operate on the route between Holyhead and Dublin, meaning normal capacity is to be available.
Just last week Holyhead Port issued a statement saying “we can now confirm that the timeline for reopening the Terminal 5 ferry berth by 16th January 2025 remains achievable.” The statement said this was due to “diligent assessments and planning.”
However, on Friday afternoon the company said: “We remain on target to open one ferry berth on 16th January, following our engineers working tirelessly to address the challenges presented by the structural damage sustained.
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“We are pleased to confirm that ferry services will operate on an adjusted timetable, and given the situation, we plan to facilitate a full schedule for both ferry operators from Terminal 5 on a temporary basis. Therefore, there will be no loss of capacity with eight daily sailings from the port across both operators.
“Over the next few days, subject to favourable weather conditions, we will undertake berthing trials in preparation for ferry services resuming.”
The company said it will “provide an update on a timeline for Terminal 3 as soon as possible.”
The confirmation comes as Taoiseach Simon Harris is scheduled to speak with Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan on Friday.
Ferry services at the port have been suspended since Storm Darragh at the start of December.
Mr Harris and his Welsh counterpart are set to discuss the impact of the closure and what efforts will be made to ensure similar disruption to trade between Ireland and the UK can be prevented in future.
A statement from the Taoiseach’s office said Mr Harris will highlight the importance of the Welsh and Irish governments working closely together to put in place shared contingencies to facilitate the movement of people and freight between Ireland and the UK following the wide scale disruption.
