SEA CONTAINERS has consolidated its Irish Sea services further with the axing of a second ferry route in a month.
The company has ended daily sailings between Belfast and Stranraer in favour of increasing its crossings between Belfast and Troon from two to three a day.
The move follows SeaCo’s recent decision to axe its loss-making service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle (Travel Weekly February 28).
A SeaCo spokesman said the Belfast-Troon route had overtaken the Belfast-Stranraer route in popularity following its launch in April last year because the total journey time from Belfast to Glasgow is shorter. Although the sailing between Belfast and Troon takes 2hrs 30mins, it is then only a 40min drive into Glasgow, he explained.
The Troon route attracted 202,000 passengers between April and December last year, while the Stranraer route attracted 172,000 throughout the whole year.