Irish Ferries owner warns of further ‘operational restrictions’ on Holyhead-Dublin route

Disruption due to the closure of Holyhead Port and reduced Dover-Calais sailings led to a fall in car carryings by Irish Ferries in the first half of the year.

A 4.4% year on year reduction in car volumes to 264,900 in the six months to June 30 was reported by parent company Irish Continental Group.

Overall pre-tax profits rose by 41% to €24.6 million as revenue grew by 8.5% to almost €310 million.

The company warned of a “risk of delays” on the Holyhead-Dublin route into the new year despite the partial re-opening of the Welsh port after Irish Sea sailings were suspended for six weeks after damage caused by Storm Darragh last December.

Irish Continental chairman John McGuckian said: “Despite a difficult start, half year 2025 has been a successful period for the group. 

“The closure of Holyhead Port in December 2024 negatively impacted volumes in the ferries division at the beginning of 2025. 

“However, following its partial reopening during January of this year, we have seen a return to more normalised volumes without RoRo carryings to 30 June up 2.2%. 

“Car volumes to 30 June were 4.4% behind the prior period.” 

This was mainly due to a reduction in sailings on the Dover-Calais route and the Holyhead disruption, he noted.

“While we welcome the partial reopening of Holyhead Port, the risk remains of delays to its full reopening,” McGuckian added. 

“Completion of repairs by the port owner will require further operational restrictions during September and October of this year and in Q1 2026, though it is expected that full services will operate on a modified timetable.”

He also pointed out that Irish Ferries had eliminated the need to charter in passenger ships with the purchase of the vessel James Joyce (pictured) in April and Oscar Wilde last year. All eight ferries operated by the group are now owned or under purchase obligation.  

“For a number of years, this has been a key ambition for the group and it is a significant step forward to complete it this year,” McGuckian added.

In an operational update in July, the Holyhead Port Authority said: “We will continue to work with our ferry partners to provide a full ferry schedule while the repairs are completed to ensure no loss in capacity. 

"We will also work collaboratively with the ferry operators to ensure that future planned maintenance work on both berths can be carried out to protect the resilience of the structures whilst maintaining full operations and capacity at the port.

“We are committed to Holyhead Port’s long-term future as a vital connection between Wales and Ireland and are putting plans in place for an investment strategy to ensure the resilience of the infrastructure to safeguard the port’s sustainable future.”