HOLYHEAD Port will remain closed until January its operators have confirmed this afternoon.
The port, which provides the main sea route between North Wales and Dublin, has been closed since earlier this month after Storm Darragh caused extensive damage to critical berthing infrastructure at the site.
The Welsh Government had hoped that the site could reopen later this week, however port operators Stena have confirmed today that this will not be possible.
“We are now able to provide an update on the current closure of the Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 ferry berths at Holyhead Port,” they told the Irish Post this afternoon.
“Regrettably, both terminals will need to remain closed until Wednesday 15th January 2025 at the earliest.”
The operator explained that its “current priority” is to establish when Terminal 5 can be re-opened safely, to resume ferry services.
They also clarified the cause of the closure as “two incidents affecting the Terminal 3 berth on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7, resulting in part of the structure collapsing and rendering it unusable”.
“Given the scale of the damage, it has been necessary to perform underwater inspections of the structural integrity of the adjacent Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 berths, which could only commence once Storm Darragh had passed, early last Tuesday (10th) morning,” they explained.
“Whilst we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we are taking the decision now to keep the ferry berths closed until January 15 at the earliest to provide certainty for passengers, freight customers and ferry operators and allow them to make alternative arrangements ahead of one of the busiest times of the year.”
The operator went on to apologise for the impact the continuing closures will have on trade and passengers who use the port at what is usually one of its busiest times of year.
“We understand the closure of the ferry terminals has had a significant impact on trade, passengers and port customers,” they said.
“We are sorry for the disruption this has caused.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers is our first priority and we will only permit ferry services to recommence once we are sure it is safe to do so.”
Irish Ferries has now cancelled all sailings on its Holyhead-Dublin route up to January 15.
"We regret to advise that due to the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port, Irish Ferries has cancelled all sailings on the Holyhead/Dublin route, up to and including 15 January 2025," they said in a statement issued this afternoon.
"We are currently contacting customers booked to travel on the route in date order to outline options available to them, including sailing on the Rosslare-Pembroke route, where we have added more space.
"We are also working with UK ports with a view to adding further sailings to/from Ireland," they added.
Stena Line has also confirmed it is "working hard" to provide alternative travel to customers who had booked to sail to or from Holyhead over Christmas.
"It has been announced that Holyhead Port will not be reopening for ferry services until at least 15 January 2025," they said this afternoon.
"Stena Line has been working hard to provide alternative travel arrangements for customers during the busy festive period.
"Customers are currently being contacted and affected passengers are advised to amend their booking online free of charge or through the Contact Centre," they added.
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