Irish Ferries has agreed a mutual space sharing agreement with rival P&O Ferries on vessels sailing between Dover and Calais.
The arrangement will result in greater flexibility and more choice for both companies’ customers, the company said.
“While the space charter agreement means that capacity is shared so that customers will have more frequent sailing options, all commercial activities remain entirely under the control of each operator.
“The group is confident the space charter agreement on our Dover-Calais route will materially improve our position on the route and customer offering. This will provide a strong base for growth in the second half of the year and beyond. In addition to this, the introduction of the Oscar Wilde gives us the ability to continue to grow.”
John McGuckian, chairman of parent company Irish Continental Group, noted that “the initial focus was to start introducing the space sharing for our freight customers over the summer allowing them to benefit from the advantages of a turn up and go service”.
He added: “We are now focused on introducing this space charter for our passenger traffic. When fully implemented, the agreement will result in greater flexibility and more choice for all our customers.”
The collaboration came as Irish Ferries added capacity on the Dover-Calais route with the introduction of a former 2,000-passenger P&O Ferries vessel.
The former Spirit of Britain (pictured) was re-named Oscar Wilde and entered service ahead of the summer peak travel period in June.
The ship, built in 2010, was acquired for €89.4 million via a combination of a two-year charter set at €20,000 a day and a purchase obligation for €74.8 million at the end of the charter, according to parent company Irish Continental Group.
The new addition to the fleet allowed for the smaller ferry Isle of Innisfree to be transferred to the Rosslare-Pembroke route in July following a refit.
A vessel previously serving the Rosslare-Pembroke route was renamed James Joyce and moved to sail between Dublin and Holyhead, allowing the return of chartered vessel Norbay to its owners.
“The fleet changes have enhanced our customer offering and increased our capacity for both passenger and freight customers on the Dover-Calais and Irish Sea routes,” the group said.
The developments came as Irish Ferries reported an operating profit of €9.5 million in the first half of the year compared to €5.3 million in the same period in 2023. Revenue rose year-on-year to €197.6 million from €179.8 million.
This came as passenger volumes rose by 22% to 1.3 million and cars by 21% to 277,200. Passenger revenues increased by 16.8% over the first half of last year.
“The performance of the ferries division was improved on the prior period with volumes, revenue and profitability all growing strongly,” the company said.