Ferry News Archive
Swansea to Cork ferry starts next year
Date: 21 Aug 2009 00:00 Source: www.newswales.co.ukA new Swansea to Cork ferry boat service will be running from St David's Day, March 1, 2010.
The owners say the return of the service will translate into hundreds of jobs in Swansea Bay and the surrounding area, as well as in and around Cork.
West Cork Tourism is seeking a chief executive to run the Fastnet Line which will relaunch the ferry route.
In October 2006 the Swansea Cork ferry ceased sailing after the owner was unable to procure a replacement vessel following the sale of the superferry.
A ship had been serving the route for almost 20 years and the sudden demise made it very difficult for holiday makers and hauliers wishing to travel between England and Ireland by road, and cost the Cork and Kerry regions approximately €35 million a year in lost tourism revenue.
Initially it was hoped (and expected) that the original operator would restart the service but this failed to materialise. In addition, and for various legal reasons, the Irish government were unable to financially help with the resurrection of the route, and as a result two things happened:
In April 2008 an online campaign was launched by John Hosford and Adrian Brentnall, then a private consortium of investors joined forces and came up with a plan to launch a new service.
The online campaign generated huge public interest, and behind the scenes the consortium were busy looking at financial options and the sourcing of a ship. The two parties came together during 2008 and a fresh momentum was brought to the crusade.
By December a bank had agreed to fund 60% of the start-up costs, an operator had been found, and four ships had been identified as suitable candidates.
The ports of Cork and Swansea had swung in with discounted start-up incentives, and the West Cork Tourism office with Conor Buckley at the helm were actively helping to promote the cause. Fáilte Ireland and Cork County Council had also agreed to finance a marketing package.
By January 2009 a ship had been decided upon. The ‘Julia’ could hold 1,800 passengers, 400 cars, 40 freight units, and was also fitted out with 800 beds. She was owned by a Finnish bank and a deal was waiting to be done. There was one major problem however, the consortium was short 3 million Euros.
On the 12th February, and with great inventiveness, the consortium launched a new co-operative society, and invited anyone and everyone who believed in the venture to make pledges of €10,000.
They were looking for 300 private investors and toured Cork, South Kerry and Swansea to build awareness and generate new interest. In parallel, and throughout the campaign, David Young, presenter of the West Cork Today local radio programme, made sure that the general public were kept informed while at the same time giving the campaign organisers a powerful and instrumental outlet by which to champion the cause.
The people stepped up to the mark, and after an exciting month the target was reached and the management team were able to confidently enter negotiations for a procurement deal with the Finnish bank.
A memorandum of agreement was signed with the bank on the 3rd April 2009,.
The Julia, which was recently refitted, will have to undergo some minor alterations to comply with Irish maritime law, and the new operating company will be called Fastnet Line. She will be renamed the Innisfallen and we look forward to seeing her starting her new life.
Because the summer booking season for 2009 is already well underway, coupled with the extended negotiation process for the purchase of the ship, the co-op have decided to start running the ferry service on 1st March 2010.
Updates will be posted here at a later date.
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