Hoped-for first sailing of new ferry scheduled for weekend

By Frank O Donovan Saturday March 6th, 2010

AS we went to press, the first sailing of the Swansea-Cork ferry, the MV Julia, was scheduled for this Friday night after the vessel’s scheduled inaugural voyage on Monday had to be cancelled because of technical difficulties.

Fastnet Line’s MV Julia sailings scheduled for Monday, March 1, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th had to be cancelled because of technical difficulties in completing the refitting of the 21,699-tonne vessel, which was built in 1982, that took place in Swansea Docks during February.

It is understood that certification by the regulatory authorities of certain necessary works was needed before the Julia could make its first voyage on the route. They were not major works, but some parts were needed to complete the job. As late as this Thursday morning (4th), the ferry operators were still awaiting clearance certificates, however if they were not received in time for Friday, the inaugural sailing could be as late as Wednesday next.

The 450 passengers who were booked on the cancelled sailings were contacted by Fastnet Line and offered the option to book alternative dates to travel to Swansea. If they don’t want to travel on alternative dates, they will receive a full refund of their fare.

Affected passengers will be offered a 50 per cent discount off their fare when they next book a sailing to Swansea with Fastnet Line.

The Mayor of County Cork, Derry Canty, said on Wednesday that he was delighted that a date had been set for the inaugural sailing of the ferry. “Everything is in place now, a date has been set and I wish the Fastnet Line well for the future. I’m sure the service will go from strength to strength,” he said.

He added that it was very disappointing that the Monday’s scheduled sailing couldn’t go ahead because of technical hitches. “All’s well that ends well. This is a very important development for County Cork and the reinstated link between Cork and Swansea will be good for tourism in both regions.”

The Chairman of Clonakilty District Chamber of Tourism, Jim Daly, said the chamber’s members were anxious that the vessel would begin sailings without further delay. The Clonakilty Chamber of Tourism is a shareholder in the venture.

The Julia, which was built in Germany and has capacity for 1,400 passengers, was bought from a Finnish bank by a co-operative formed by West Cork Tourism.

Three years ago Swansea-Cork Ferries was forced to close its service after it failed to find a replacement for the MV Superferry.

Meanwhile, the Clonakilty District Chamber of Tourism, chamber went ahead with its “€1 hotel room offer”, which was organised to coincide with the return of the Cork Swansea Ferry. The competition was run online on www.clonakilty.ie,  with participants required to submit their contact details to be in with a chance of winning one hundred hotel rooms for €1 during the month of March.

Due to the massive levels of demand, the site crashed temporarily during the first hour of the competition. Over the twelve hours of the promotion, more than 20,000 people entered their details on the Clonakilty site. Mr Daly expressed his gratitude to each of the nine local hotels that contributed to the success of the promotion.

“We had more than 20,000 entries, with almost half of those requesting to be kept updated of future promotions and offers being run in the district. This will greatly assist us in our efforts to continue to promote the district,” he said. The full list of the 100 winners is available to view on www.clonakilty.ie