Holyhead Port to resume some ferry services within weeks

All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead have been cancelled over recent weeks. Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

Bosses at Holyhead Port say they are on course for a partial reopening after it was damaged during Storm Darragh.

The ferry company Stena Line, which owns the port in Anglesey, is planning to reopen the Terminal 5 berth and operate four daily sailings from 16 January to 28 February.

All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead have been cancelled over recent weeks, affecting thousands of people travelling to and from Ireland over the festive period.

Stena Line said that on the weekend Storm Darragh hit, December 6-7, there were two incidents at the berth at Terminal 3, resulting in part of the structure collapsing and rendering it unusable.

A Stena Line spokesperson said: "Stena Line currently plans to operate four daily sailings (exiting) Holyhead at 04:00hrs, 10:00hrs, 16:00hrs and 22.15hrs from 16 January to 28 February. Beyond this date, the schedule will be updated accordingly if needed when the timeline for a return to a two-berth operation at Holyhead becomes clear. We are currently in the process of contacting affected customers.”

The port of Holyhead is one of the busiest ferry ports in the UK

Irish Ferries said all Holyhead services remain cancelled until at least 16 January.

Meanwhile, there are calls for more action to get Holyhead back to being fully operational and resilient enough to deal with future storms.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the Senedd for Ynys Môn, said: "This has had a massive impact on jobs in Holyhead, on the town, on the wider area, on the wider sector. I've spoken to haulage companies, not just here on Ynys Môn, but across north Wales too facing greater costs because of this.

"It's brought into question the resilience of the port itself in weather that we know is getting worse year after year, but at least today we have some better news.

"But there are still unanswered questions about what happens next, what's going to have to be done to bring the other berth back up and running, so we still need to make sure that we have those longer-term answers, too.

"We need to make sure that the berths themselves are also up to facing the ever more often storms that we are facing."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…