Ferry changes on way
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
n the offing, with the possibility tossing between Scotland and Ills From January 18, Townsend "horesen is to reduce the freluency of its Cairnryan/Larne rossing, in a desperate attempt o make the nine-year-old ser,ice profitable, and will provide hree return sailings each day vith one ship.
It is withdrawing its Free Enerprise IV from the route, and nstead will operate the Furopean Gateway, which has :apacity for around 80 lorries, hree times that of the withIrawn ferry. The Gateway was engthened last year to increase ts freight capacity, and it was itted with enlarged and im)roved driver and passenger iccommodation.
According to the company, the :ervice has never been consisently profitable, if at all, and the :ombined effects of the reces:ion and the political instability )f Northern Ireland have corn)elled it to look either at reducng the service or withdrawing it iltogether. There has been a 30 )er cent drop in Ulster haulage n the past year.
"There is too much capacity )n the route for the market ieeds, and this is obviously a najor contributory factor in our iecision. As a free enterprise :ompany, we cannot afford to )perate services at a loss," said rish services managing director 3eoffrey Parker. While Mr Parker raised the somewhat faint hope that the current two-ship operation might return in the event of the recession ending and Northern Ireland's political scene stabilising, even they could be dashed if plans for the Liverpool/Belfast route are acted upon.
Mancon Shipping, of Liverpool, has lodged a bid with P&O Ferries to take over its inter-city service and at least to use the two vessels and terminal facilisties. P&O has been losing over E1 ma year on the route.
The Government has made it clear that it has no intention of subsidising any of the Irish ferry crossings, in view partly of the international complications which such a move may create, and Northern Ireland Secretary James Prior said recently that he doubted whether such a move would even benefit the economy of the province.
But Mr Prior, in common with many others, has recognised the unrealised freight transport potential which the route offers, and it would be very surprising indeed if Mancon did not invest in ferries which are capable of carrying more lorries. At present, there is space only for about one lorry on the P&O vessels, owing to their limited vehicle-deck headroom.
With suitable tonnage, Man con might well attract lorry traffic away from the Scottish crossing, especially as the eight-hour driving day has reduced the attraction of the cross-Britain landbridge, and this would have the environmental bonus of taking traffic away from the singlecarriageway A75 Stranraer/Gretna road.
This view is shared by Northern Ireland Road Transport Association secretary Stanley Martin, who told CM that a route which fed into the English Midlands would benefit operators.
But it will be up against competition from a surviving sector of P&O's operation, the Pandoro ro/ro service from Larne to Liverpool and Fleetwood. Increased accommodation for drivers has been provided on its two 90trailer vessels, and the company says that it is poised to increase business.
On top of this, 13+1, Ireland's semi-state shipping line, is suffering from financial problems akin to those of the British operators, and the future of its Cork/Pembroke route is being questioned.