Irish Continental
Encyclopedia
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operator. The company operates on the Dublin Port
Dublin Port
Dublin Port is Ireland's biggest sea port. It has both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of the Republic of Ireland's port traffic goes via Dublin Port...
(North Wall)–Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
route, and from Rosslare Europort
Rosslare Europort
Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France....
to Roscoff
Roscoff
Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
, Cherbourg, and Pembroke
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
Pembroke is an historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in west Wales. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref of Penfro: Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so it means essentially "Land's End".-History:The main point of...
.
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
MS Isle of Inishmore
MS Isle of Inishmore is a ro-ro ferry owned by Irish Ferries and operated on their Rosslare-Pembroke service. At the time of its introduction, it was the largest car ferry operating in Northern Europe. It is named after Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands...
, Oscar Wilde and the fast ferry Jonathan Swift
HSC Jonathan Swift
HSC Jonathan Swift is a high-speed ferry and is currently owned and operated by Irish Ferries on their Dublin-Holyhead service. It is named after the Anglo-Irish author 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
Pride of Bilbao
MS "Princess Anastasia" is a cruiseferry owned by St. Peter Line. Until September 2010, she was known as "Pride of Bilbao", operated by P&O Ferries on their Portsmouth–Bilbao route. The vessel was built in 1986 as the Olympia by the Wärtsilä shipyard in Turku, Finland for Rederi AB Slite, Sweden...
, but sold it to St Peter Line
St Peter Line
St. Peter Line is a Russian shipping company, which operates services from Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Stockholm . The company was founded in 2010 with it starting operations in April of that year...
in 2010.
Irish Ferries is part of the Irish Continental Group (ICG)
Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll Off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe...
which trades on the Irish Stock Exchange
Irish Stock Exchange
-History:The Irish Stock Exchange is Ireland's only stock exchange and has been in existence since 1793. It is an Irish private company limited by guarantee. It was first recognised by legislation in 1799 when the Irish Parliament passed the Stock Exchange Act...
and the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. ICG also own the Eucon container line who operate a number of vessels on routes between Ireland and the continent.
History
The company was formed in 1973 as a joint venture between Irish Shipping LimitedIrish Shipping Limited
Irish Shipping Limited was an Irish state-owned deepsea shipping company, formed during World War II for the purpose of supplying the country's import needs. Its ships were usually named after trees. Its contribution to Irish neutrality was recognised by the government after the war...
, Fearnley & Eger and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
company Lion Ferry
Lion Ferry
Lion Ferry was a Swedish ferry company which operated passenger and freight ferry services in Scandinavia and North America.-History:1960The Prins Bertil enters service between Halmstad and Aarhus....
. 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
Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll Off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe...
.
In 1992, Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll Off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe...
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.
New vessel for French service
Irish Ferries took delivery of the 1989 – built MS Kronprins HaraldMS Kronprins Harald
MS Oscar Wilde is a cruiseferry owned by Irish Ferries. She in currently in service on Irish Ferries' Rosslare - Cherbourg and Rosslare - Roscoff routes. The ship was built in Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard, Finland for Jahre Line as MS Kronprins Harald...
from the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
shipping company Color Line in September 2007. The ship was renamed MS Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
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.
Controversy
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
SIPTU
SIPTU , or in Irish: CSTGT is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Republic of Ireland, although the union does have a Northern Ireland branch...
, a contractor working for Irish Ferries was paying a Filipina
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
woman just over €1 an hour to work as a beauty therapist on board the . 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
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
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
Rosslare Europort
Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France....
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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.
Fleet
| Ship | Built | Entered Service | Route | Crossing Times | Gross Tonnage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1997 | Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France.... –Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard... |
4 Hours | |||
| 1999 | 1999 | Dublin Dublin Port Dublin Port is Ireland's biggest sea port. It has both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of the Republic of Ireland's port traffic goes via Dublin Port... –Holyhead Port of Holyhead The Port of Holyhead is a ferry port in Anglesey, Wales, handling more than 2 million passengers each year. Stena Line and Irish Ferries sail from Holyhead to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire in Ireland, forming the principal link for surface transport from north Wales and central and northern England to... |
1 Hour 49 Minutes | Express Service | ||
| MS Ulysses | 2001 | 2001 | Dublin–Holyhead Port of Holyhead The Port of Holyhead is a ferry port in Anglesey, Wales, handling more than 2 million passengers each year. Stena Line and Irish Ferries sail from Holyhead to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire in Ireland, forming the principal link for surface transport from north Wales and central and northern England to... |
3 Hours 25 Minutes | The Irish Sea's largest car ferry. In January 2006 the Ulysses was re-flagged and now flies the Cypriot Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the... flag, registered in Limassol Limassol Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the... . |
|
| MS Oscar Wilde | 1987 | 2007 | Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France.... –Cherbourg Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France.... –Roscoff Roscoff Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour.... |
17 Hours 30 Minutes 15 Hours 30 Minutes |
Replaced MS Normandy MS Normandy MS Normandy is a ferry owned by the Singapore-based oil service company Equinox Offshore Accommodation, under charter the Morocco-based ferry operator Ferrimaroc. She was built in 1981 by Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden, and first entered service in 1982 as MS Prinsessan Birgitta for Stena Sessan Line... . The Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France.... –Roscoff Roscoff Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour.... service operates from May–September. |
Ships under charter to other companies
| Ship | Under charter to | Built | Purchased by Irish Ferries | Route | Tonnage1 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Kaitaki | Interisland Line | 1995 | 1995 | Picton Picton -People:* Cesar Picton , from slave to successful businessman in England* Thomas Picton , Welsh soldier* Robert Pickton , Canadian serial killer-Animal:... –Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range... |
Sailed for Irish Ferries as Isle of Innisfree 1995–2001 | |
| 1May be specified in gross tonnage Gross tonnage Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage... (GT) or gross register tons (GRT). |
||||||
Former ships
| Ship | Years in service | Gross Register Tonnage | Status as of 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
1978–1981 1982–1997 |
|
Scrapped in Alang, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... , 2007 |
| 1982–1997 | Since 2002 sailing as C.T.M.A. Vancancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien The Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien is a Canadian transportation company operating in Quebec and Prince Edward Island.Labelling itself Groupe CTMA, the company operates the seasonal ferry service from Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec in the Magdalen Islands to Souris, Prince Edward Island using... |
||
| Isle of Inishmore MS Madeleine The MS Madeleine is a car/passenger ferry owned and operated by C.T.M.A. between Souris and Cap-aux-Meules. The ship previously sailed with Irish Ferries as Isle of Inishturk.-History:... Isle of Inishturk MS Madeleine The MS Madeleine is a car/passenger ferry owned and operated by C.T.M.A. between Souris and Cap-aux-Meules. The ship previously sailed with Irish Ferries as Isle of Inishturk.-History:... |
1995–1996 1996–1997 |
Since 1997 sailing as Madeleine for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien The Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien is a Canadian transportation company operating in Quebec and Prince Edward Island.Labelling itself Groupe CTMA, the company operates the seasonal ferry service from Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec in the Magdalen Islands to Souris, Prince Edward Island using... |
|
| MS Normandy MS Normandy MS Normandy is a ferry owned by the Singapore-based oil service company Equinox Offshore Accommodation, under charter the Morocco-based ferry operator Ferrimaroc. She was built in 1981 by Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden, and first entered service in 1982 as MS Prinsessan Birgitta for Stena Sessan Line... |
1998–2007 | sold to Equinox Offshore Accommodation and currently chartered to the Morocco-based Ferrimaroc | |
| MS Bilbao | 1993–2010 | Sailed for P&O Ferries sold to St Peter Line St Peter Line St. Peter Line is a Russian shipping company, which operates services from Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Stockholm . The company was founded in 2010 with it starting operations in April of that year... in 2010 |
|
| MS Thomas Wehr | 1992 | Briefly sailed as a freight vessel on charter to Irish Ferries, now MV Lider |
External links
- Irish Ferries – Online Tickets Sales & Reservations
- Irish Continental Group (corporate)
- Irish Ferries (consumer)
- (Irish ferries enthusiasts site)