A Holyhead Port ferry terminal will reopen tomorrow which means some passenger ferry crossings will resume. The port was damaged after Storm Darragh swept through Wales in early December.
All ferry services at the North Wales port, owned by Stena Line, were cancelled before the Christmas period after the storms damaged infrastructure in early December. Parcel deliveries were delayed and thousands of people travelling home for Christmas were also affected.
Both terminal 3 and terminal 5 ferry berths were impacted. Berth 5 will reopen tomorrow (January 16) which means Stena Line and Irish Ferries ships operating on the route can operate via an adjusted timetable of eight daily sailings across both operators. Terminal 3 remains closed.
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Last Friday (January 10), Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke with the Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan. Both leaders welcomed confirmation that the port would partially re-open next Thursday, which is expected to accommodate the same volume of freight and passenger services prior to Storm Darragh. That was dependant on weather conditions, but it has now been confirmed services will resume. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Stena Line has confirmed services will now resume between Holyhead and Dublin. The first service listed departing Holyhead on the company’s website is at 4am. A service is also scheduled to arrive into Holyhead at 2am from Dublin.
A Holyhead Port spokesperson said: “Our current focus remains on bringing Terminal 5 back into operation, and we will provide an update on a timeline for Terminal 3 as soon as possible. We remain committed to the long-term resilience of Holyhead, ensuring a sustainable future for the port.”
The Welsh Government has set up a taskforce relating to Holyhead. President of the Irish Road Haulage Association Ger Hyland welcomed the news and said decisions needed to be taken to ensure we “never again find ourselves in the position that we were in before Christmas… we have to have other options other than Holyhead”.