Christmas travel and delivery chaos looms amid Holyhead port closure
Stena And On The The Ferries Ellis/afp Dublin Images Sailings Have Cancelled Friday Paul Lines Route Holyhead Irish Earliest Picture: Next Via At Until Getty
Families face uncertainty over loved ones making it home for Christmas while retailers are scrambling to find alternate routes for their products due to the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port.
Industry figures do not expect the Welsh port — damaged during Storm Darragh — to open next Thursday.
That could plunge Christmas holiday plans for tens of thousands travelling to and from Ireland into chaos as journeys for the festive period are expected to kick off in earnest from the middle of next week.
So far, Irish Ferries and Stena Lines have cancelled sailings on the Dublin-Holyhead route until next Friday at the earliest.
Meanwhile, An Post has said the last of the 150,000 parcels destined for Ireland delayed by the closure of the port at Holyhead have been rerouted to other British ports.
It comes as Rosslare Europort is experiencing an increase of over 120% in freight volumes from Britain amid the scramble to secure alternative routes.
While it is a major port for freight coming in and out of Dublin, it is also a significant route for passengers to make the return journey to Ireland for the Christmas period.
An Post has said it is not counting on Holyhead being reopened before Christmas.
In a statement on Friday, it said: “Many UK retailers are working with ferry companies to secure alternative routes on larger vessels into Ireland while Holyhead remains closed.
“Larger capacity ferries are now accessing Ireland from Wales, Scotland, and Liverpool via Rosslare Europort, Larne, and Dublin Port, and will continue to do so right up to Christmas and into New Year 2025.”
Overnight into Friday, An Post said it had received 350,000 British parcels into its hubs for processing and delivery on Saturday and into next week.
Rob Horgan of Cork's Velo Coffee said the disruption at Holyhead is having a significant knock-on impact on food producers and exporters.
"The 'just in time' supply chain model has broken down because of this," Mr Horgan, the current President of Cork Chamber said.
"We are sending three vans on Sunday through Rosslare to Pembroke to pick up our green beans and bring them back here to Cork on Tuesday for roasting. It's easier to book vans on the ferries rather than trucks."
Velo Coffee supplies a range of customers including Tesco, Dunnes and Aldi along with Tesco in Northern Ireland.
"We are confident of our supplies for Christmas but there is a lack of clarity around the entire situation," he said.
Alan Kingston of Glenilen Farm in West Cork which supplies a range of yoghurts to supermarkets across Ireland and the UK said the disruption at Holyhead has added an extra day to their UK exports with products having to be moved through the port in Larne.
Irish Exporters Association CEO Simon McKeever said he would have a “very low level of confidence” that Holyhead port will reopen on December 19.
Mr McKeever said there needs to be an intergovernmental operation now between the Irish, Welsh, and British governments in order to get goods moving again.
This includes moving traffic to other ports in Wales or Birkenhead in Liverpool.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transport has said that while the Port of Cork currently has no direct British sailings, it has indicated that it has the capacity to operate one sailing a day, possibly two, based on scheduling.
"The ministers will continue to engage stakeholders over the weekend and intend to meet with Irish Ferries and Stena Line on Monday to ensure that there is optimal co-operation between companies so that freight, drivers, and passengers can be accommodated ahead of the festive season," it added.