SEACONTAINERShas announced that it will introduce its third Belfast route on April 29.
The decision to introduce a new year-round service between Troon in Ayrshire and Belfast follows shortly after the company unveiled details of a new seasonal Heysham-Belfast crossing (Travel Weekly January 20).
The fast ferry service between Troon and Belfast will be operated twice-daily by SeaCat Scotland, journey time 2hrs 30mins.
However, SeaCat Scotland will start making only one crossing a day between Stranraer and Belfast, instead of two, in order to accommodate the new route. A Sea Containers spokesman claimed the company was expanding services between the UK and Northern Ireland because of the on-going peace process, which was boosting demand for travel to Belfast.
Troon is close to Glasgow and has road and rail connections to Edinburgh and Ayr.
The spokesman said 30 shore staff based in Stranraer would remain there, but SeaCat Scotland’s 130 ship staff would be asked if they wanted to relocate to Belfast.
He stressed there would be no redundancies in the move.