| Founded | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Area served | France, Ireland, Wales |
| Key people | Eamonn Rothwell, MD |
| Services | Passenger transportation, Freight transportation |
| Parent | Irish Continental Group |
| Website | www.irishferries.com |
Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry operator. The company operates on the Dublin Port (North Wall)–Holyhead route, and from Rosslare Europort to Roscoff, Cherbourg, and Pembroke.
The company's flagship, the Ulysses, is the Irish Sea's largest car ferry and when launched was the world's largest car ferry in terms of car-carrying capacity, though not in tonnage. Other ships in the fleet include the Isle of Inishmore, Oscar Wilde and the fast ferry Jonathan Swift (aka Dublin Swift). The company also charters out a vessel, the Kaitaki to Interisland Line. The company used to charter the Pride of Bilbao, but sold it to St Peter Line in 2010.
Irish Ferries is part of the Irish Continental Group (ICG) which trades on the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. ICG also own the Eucon container line who operate a number of vessels on routes between Ireland and the continent.
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The company was formed in 1973 as a joint venture between Irish Shipping Limited, Fearnley & Eger and Swedish company Lion Ferry. Originally called Irish Continental Line, it first operated on the Rosslare–Le Havre with the M/S Saint Patrick. When Irish Shipping Ltd. went into liquidation in 1984, Irish Continental Line was sold off in a management buyout and emerged as Irish Continental Group.
In 1992, Irish Continental Group took over the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited, a nationalised company which traded under the name B + I Line and operated ferry services between Dublin–Holyhead as well as Rosslare–Pembroke Dock.
Irish Ferries took delivery of the 1989 – built MS Kronprins Harald from the Norwegian shipping company Color Line in September 2007. The ship was renamed MS Oscar Wilde and is currently in operation between Rosslare Europort–Cherbourg and Roscoff. She entered service in December 2007 on the Dublin–Holyhead route, then the Rosslare–Pembroke Dock route, and finally to her selected route, Rosslare–Cherbourg and Rosslare–Roscoff. Instead of receiving the traditional white hull of Irish Ferries, the ship maintained the blue hull of Color Line.[1]
On 23 February 2004, Irish Ferries announced that the firm could close over a dispute about a cost-cutting plan if it was not resolved soon. Director of Human Resources Alf McGrath announced the lay-off of 600 staff in the following few days. Also announced was the suspension of the swift ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, the Rosslare–Pembroke service, and the Rosslare route to Cherbourg and Roscoff.
On the 24 March 2005 it became known that, according to SIPTU, a contractor working for Irish Ferries was paying a Filipina woman just over €1 an hour to work as a beauty therapist on board the MS Isle of Inishmore. Salvacion Orge had just begun working as a beauty therapist on the ferry, but the company ended her contract by closing down the service following queries about the wages she was being paid. She refused to disembark from the vessel. A meeting took place on the 29 March 2005 and after two hours of negotiation between her management and the trade union SIPTU, Ms. Orge was granted €24,000. The crew on board the ferry also made a collection for her totalling around €1,000. The next day she flew from Dublin to the Philippines and was reunited with her three teenage children.
On 19 September 2005, Irish Ferries offered voluntary redundancy packages to its 543 seafaring workers on its Irish Sea services on the Dublin–Holyhead and Rosslare–Pembroke routes. The firm stated they could not continue to operate with high fuel costs and increasing competition from rival shipping operators and low-cost airlines. The statement also said the situation had deteriorated that year with a 9% drop in the Irish Sea car passenger market and rises of up to 50% in the cost of fuel. The decision by Irish Ferries to outsource crewing on its Rosslare to France routes earlier that year led to a strike and demonstrations in France.
In late November 2005, the outsourcing of the crewing of two Irish Ferries vessels commenced and the contractor's employees came on board. This led to a stand-off between management and crew, and an intense political debate in Ireland.
On 9 December 2005, a nationwide day of protest was called by the Irish Council of Trade Unions against the company's actions. Over 100,000 people were said to have participated, including 40,000 in Dublin. The protest stopped all public transport for over four hours.
The dispute was ultimately resolved through the Irish Labour Relations Commission, with a legally binding agreement reached between the company and the trades unions.
| Ship | Built | Entered Service | Route | Crossing Times | Gross Tonnage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Isle of Inishmore | 1997 | 1997 | Rosslare Europort–Pembroke Dock | 4 Hours | 34,031 GT | |
| HSC Jonathan Swift | 1999 | 1999 | Dublin–Holyhead | 1 Hour 49 Minutes | 5,992 GT | Express Service |
| MS Ulysses | 2001 | 2001 | Dublin–Holyhead | 3 Hours 25 Minutes | 50,938 GT | The Irish Sea's largest car ferry. In January 2006 the Ulysses was re-flagged and now flies the Cypriot flag, registered in Limassol. |
| MS Oscar Wilde | 1987 | 2007 | Rosslare Europort–Cherbourg Rosslare Europort–Roscoff |
17 Hours 30 Minutes 15 Hours 30 Minutes |
31,122 GT | Replaced MS Normandy. The Rosslare Europort–Roscoff service operates from May–September. |
| Ship | Under charter to | Built | Purchased by Irish Ferries | Route | Tonnage1 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Kaitaki | Interisland Line | 1995 | 1995 | Picton–Wellington | 22,365 GT | Sailed for Irish Ferries as Isle of Innisfree 1995–2001 |
| 1May be specified in gross tonnage (GT) or gross register tons (GRT). | ||||||
| Ship | Years in service | Gross Register Tonnage | Status as of 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS Saint Killian MS Saint Killian II |
1978–1981 1982–1997 |
7,125 GRT 10,256 GRT |
Scrapped in Alang, India, 2007 |
| MS Saint Patrick II | 1982–1997 | 7,984 GRT | Since 2002 sailing as C.T.M.A. Vancancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien |
| Isle of Inishmore Isle of Inishturk |
1995–1996 1996–1997 |
6,807 GRT | Since 1997 sailing as Madeleine for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien |
| MS Normandy | 1998–2007 | 17,043 GRT | sold to Equinox Offshore Accommodation and currently chartered to the Morocco-based Ferrimaroc. |
| MS Pride of Bilbao MS Bilbao |
1993–2010 2010 |
37,799 GRT | Sailed under charter to P&O Ferries. Since 2010 sailing as Princess Anastasia for St. Peter Line. |
| MS Thomas Wehr | 1992 | 7,628 GRT | Briefly sailed as a freight vessel on charter to Irish Ferries, now MV Lider |
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