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30th September 2006

Despite the best laid plans to see European Mariner re-enter service on the Larne - Troon freight roster sometime during the week commencing 18/9/06 the ship is still out of service almost two weeks later at Birkenhead undergoing repairs.  Best estimates as to when exactly she will enter service now stretch into mid October but all is subject to successful completion of the repairs to her propeller shaft.

In the meantime European Mariner's Troon traffic continues to be diverted via Cairnryan although Express accommodates trade cars as well as vans and small rigids as space permits on her own Troon sailings.  Stena Seafarer stood in for the 'Mariner on a windmill sailing to Campbeltown, sailing from Larne at 1230 on the 30/9/06 returning again at 0700 on the 1/10/06.  This brings the Fleetwood vessel to Campbeltown for the first time since her P&O days when she loaded in Campbeltown on the 20/9/03 with windmills for Mostyn.

Express Cancellations

28th September 2006

Gales and technical problems resulted in three cancelled sailings by Express on the 27/9/06 and the 28/9/06.

Gales caused the 1255 to Cairnryan and 1730 to Troon on the 27/9/06 to be cancelled.  Traffic was accommodated on Cairnryan conventional ferry sailings but there was some reshuffling required to get all diverted traffic accommodated on the Cairnryan ships as the 1630 ex Larne and 2000 sailings ex Larne in particular were already heavily booked with freight traffic.

On the 28/9/06 an engine problem resulted in late running on the 1005 ex Troon which arrived in Larne 45 minutes late at 1240.  The 1255 to Cairnryan was subsequently cancelled while repairs were made to allow the Express to sail as scheduled later that evening to Troon at 1730.

Hurricane Gordon Visits the North Channel

21st September 2006

The remnants of what was hurricane Gordon swept through the North Channel over a two day spell starting early on 20/9/06 before finally clearing in the evening of the 21/9/06. 

First to feel the brunt of the gales was fast craft Express.  She sailed early to Troon at 1700 instead of 1730 on the evening of the 19/9/06 in attempt to get back to Larne before the worst of the gale blew up.  She finished her day at 2220 with the south easterly gale beginning to pick up.  The following day, the 20/9/06, with wind speed in the harbour already in excess of 30 knots the first sailing to Troon at 0715 was cancelled along with all subsequent sailings for the rest of the day.  Traffic was diverted to European Causeway and European Highlander sailings to Cairnryan. 

Fast craft sailings on the 21/9/06 also saw some disruption with the 0715 Troon sailing and 1255 Cairnryan service both cancelled.  By the afternoon the wind had begun to reduce in speed and Express did depart light ship at 1410 to 'test the water' returning again at 1500.  Satisfied she could perform in the swell that remained she sailed as normal with the 1730 sailing to Troon that evening.  Services were back to normal on the 22/9/06 in time for the weekend despite the residual swell persisting in the middle section of the North Channel.

On Stena's Larne - Fleetwood service, sailing into an extremely rough southerly gale late on the 20/9/06, Stena Seafarer was delayed by the heavy weather on passage to Fleetwood and missed the tide.  This held her up for almost 5 hours waiting for the water level in the channel along the River Wyre to rise with the incoming flood tide.  She turned round and got away to Larne at approx. 0800 on the morning of the 21/9/06 with her normal 0300 service to Larne.  This hold up set the following Stena Leader behind schedule by a few hours as well but both ships gradually picked up time and by the 24/9/06 services were operating to schedule.

The tail of Hurricane Gordon even briefly managed to keep the Cairnryan conventional service in port.  During the storm's peak from around 2200 on the 20/9/06 until 0300 on the 21/9/06 European Causeway and European Highlander prudently remained in port.  The European Highlander safely arrived in Larne at 2220 with her 2000 ex Cairnryan during a south easterly gale gusting at over 70 knots which blew away the marquee in the local Olderfleet Bar's beer garden and halted loading of Stena Leader at Continental Quay as her movement alongside was risking damage to her ramp and the shore linkspan.  European Causeway's and European Highlander's 2359 sailings from Cairnryan and Larne respectively were both cancelled, with European Highlander resuming sailings at 0350 on the 21/9/06 and European Causeway arriving later in the morning from Cairnryan at 0530.  Both ships then resumed the regular sailing schedule with 0730 sailings from either port but because of the delay are operating on each other's normal sailing pattern.

11th September 2006

Since her last movement on the 27/8/06, Larne - Troon freight vessel European Mariner remained out of service laid up at Curran Quay undergoing maintenance work whilst her damaged propeller shaft was receiving attention at North Western Shiprepair, Birkenhead.

The vessel was reactivated on the 7/9/06 when she sailed from Larne at 0715 bound for Campbeltown and another windmill charter sailing.  She loaded the windmill parts and delivered them to Troon, berthing there once the fast craft Express had cleared the port with her 2020 service to Larne.

When discharge was completed, the European Mariner returned to Larne arriving at 0715 on the 8/9/06 assisted by Noleen McLoughlin.  She remained laid up on her Curran Quay berth until the 10/9/06 when she left at 1930 for Birkenhead, arriving at number 6 dry dock shortly after 1300 the following day assisted by Adsteam Waterloo.  At this visit to dry dock, her third in a month, the 'Mariner will get her propeller shaft reinstalled and should hopefully be back in service sometime next week. 

Express Finishes Isle of Man Charter

6th September 2006

Fast craft Express finished her second period on charter this year to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company with the final inbound arrival on the 6/8/06 at 0535.  Her 4 relief sailings from Larne to Douglas were completed with no problems although all sailings from Larne carried very little traffic.

3rd September 2006

The conventional ferry timetable on the Larne - Cairnryan route underwent some slight tweaking with the peak summer season now over with the end of the school holidays.

The timetable reverted to the usual winter schedule with the extra Sunday sailings operated for the month of August at 1030 and 1330 ex Larne reverting to a single sailing at 1300 ex Larne.  The ex Cairnryan schedule was similarly altered.

1st September 2006

Coaster Alexandra S arrived at the port of Larne on the 30/8/06 at 2050 with a cargo of limestone chippings. Discharge of her cargo by shore side mobile grab cranes commenced the following day and was completed by the 1/9/06.  The vessel departed Larne that same afternoon at 1410 with pilot boat Noleen McLoughlin on duty for both inward and outward movements of the coaster.

Mariner Returns from Dry Dock

27th August 2006

European Mariner returned to Larne from her recent dry docking at Birkenhead on the 25/8/06.

The Troon freight ferry had part of one of her propeller shafts removed for repairs after damaging it when she collided with a perch at Troon on the 3/8/06.  With the shaft removed in a three day dry docking, the European Mariner departed dry dock on the 24/8/06 at around 1130 and she returned to Larne the following morning at 0130 assisted by the local Larne tug Noleen McLoughlin.

The freight ferry did briefly re-enter service on the 26/8/06 when she completed a windmill charter sailing to Campbeltown, departing Larne at 0855 and returning the next day at 1500 assisted on to her berth by Noleen McLoughlin where she once again returned to lay up pending repairs to her damaged propeller shaft.

23rd August 2006

P&O fast craft Express returned to the Isle of Man for the second time in the 2006 summer season on another brief charter to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

The P&O vessel was chartered to complete 4 return voyages from Larne to Douglas all completed overnight during her normal lay over period, in a similar manner to her May/June time charter for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.  Sailings have been scheduled to depart Larne at 2300 on the 22/8/06, 25/8/06, 29/8/06 and the 5/9/06, with the return voyage from Douglas departing at 0230 the following morning, arriving in Larne with plenty of time to turn round for her usual 0715 sailing to Troon.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company have taken on this further charter for 2006 due to their own fast craft Superseacat Two, experiencing technical difficulties.  These relief sailings by Express during the night allow Superseacat Two to miss her own scheduled overnight trips to Belfast and thus catch up time lost during the day due to her technical difficulties.

The first of these 4 charter sailings by Express on the 22/8/06 operated without a hitch, departing Larne at 2305 with a return arrival from Douglas the following morning at 0535.

21st August 2006

P&O's Larne - Troon freight ferry European Mariner once again departed Larne for further attention at a dry dock.  After already visiting Dublin dry dock since her accident at Troon the vessel this time set sail from Larne for dry docking in Birkenhead at 1615 on the 20/8/06.  The ship entered the dock on the following morning's tide around 1000 assisted by Mersey tug Bramley Moore.  The vessel will have one of her propeller shafts removed so the yard can carry out repairs on it.  While this is being done the 'Mariner is due to once again return to Larne to lay up awaiting the repairs on her propeller shaft being completed.

18th August 2006

Coastal cargo vessel Stina called at Larne to discharge a cargo of silver sand on the 17/8/06.  The vessel berthed at Olderfleet Quay at 2330 on the 17/8/06 with discharge commencing the following morning using mobile grab cranes.  Discharge was completed for 1600 and the ship departed bound for Loch Alainn at 1750.  Local tug Noleen McLoughlin was pilot boat on both the inward and outward transits of the coaster.

Marin Ark RfD Testing aboard European Mariner

17th August 2006

Liferaft manufacturers RfD based at Dunmurray near Belfast were once again hosted by the European Mariner on the 17/8/06 as they carried out testing of their Marin Ark Marine Evacuation System (MES). 

13th August 2006

Cruise ship Athena  made her 3rd call of the summer at the port of Larne on the afternoon of the 13/8/06.  The vessel arrived at 1730, berthing at Curran Quay with the assistance of Willowgarth from Belfast and local tug Noleen McLoughlin, which on this occasion was on pilot boat duties.  Athena's last cruise finished in Dublin earlier that morning and around 70 passengers then joined the ship for an afternoon cruise to Larne.  These day cruise passengers from Dublin were disembarked and approximately 600 passengers then joined the ship in Larne for a 10 day cruise to the Western Mediterranean.  All passengers and their baggage were onboard by 2030 and after hosting a short reception on board Athena departed bound for Lisbon at 2305.  At the end of the cruise Athena will disembark her passengers in Dublin for bus transfer back to various pick up points in Northern Ireland.

Sequence of pictures displayed below of Athena arriving on the 13/8/06 were taken by Aubrey Dale (click on image to enlarge)

11th August 2006

European Mariner returned to Larne from dry docking in Dublin at 0825 on the 11/8/06 assisted by Belfast based Svitzer Marine tug Willowgarth and Larne tug Noleen McLoughlin.  The ship had departed Dublin the previous day and made her way north to Larne, coming to anchor off the port in the early hours of the morning.

After her collision with a perch at Troon (see 3/8/06 story below) the European Mariner was withdrawn from service for repairs at Dublin but these were not completed as some of the spare parts required were not immediately available.  Rather than await these in the dry dock, the ship returned to Larne to lay up on Curran Quay awaiting arrival of the new parts.  In the meantime her Troon freight sailings remain cancelled and cargo is being diverted to the Cairnryan route.

8th August 2006

P&O's Dublin to Liverpool freight vessel Norbank made a two day visit to the Port of Larne for an underwater hull survey.  The vessel arrived light ship from Dublin on the 7/8/06 at 1740 berthing on Curran Quay.  The hull survey was carried out the following day by divers working from local tug Noleen McLoughlin and the Norbank departed after the job was completed at 1530 on the 8/8/06 bound for Dublin in time to pick up her regular 2200 sailing to Liverpool.

8th August 2006

Stena Line freight vessel Stena Leader took time out from her regular Larne to Fleetwood duties over the weekend of the 5/8/06 to the 6/8/06 to visit dry dock. 

The ship made her last crossing with the 2200 ex Larne on the 4/8/06 and after discharging this cargo in Fleetwood the following morning she left for dry docking at Birkenhead by North Western Ship Repair, arriving there at approx 1930.

The purpose of the quick visit to dry dock was to have a survey done to renew her passenger certificates for the coming year, the ship having previously visited dry dock for her annual overhaul back in February.

The ship departed the dock again at 2000 on the 6/8/06 setting sail for Fleetwood.  She returned to service with her 1000 sailing from the Lancashire port the following morning.

Covering for the absence of Stena Leader was Stena Seafarer which sailed on the 'Leader's usual 1000 ex Fleetwood, 2200 ex Larne cycle for the duration of the Stena Leader's spell off service beginning with the 1000 ex Fleetwood on the 5/8/06.  Stena Seafarer's usual 0300 ex Fleetwood and 1600 ex Larne sailings were cancelled until the 0300 ex Fleetwood on the 8/8/06.

Some pictures of the Leader arriving on the Mersey are available on Irish Sea Shipping at:

http://www.irishseashipping.com/photofeatures/shipco/stena/leader050806/leader050806.htm

Stena Leader in the Mersey arriving at Birkenhead's dry docks on the 5/8/06.  Photo: Ian Collard (click to enlarge)

Coaster Calls

6th August 2006

Coastal cargo vessel Marja was a rare visitor to the shores off Larne on the 6/8/06.  The ship anchored to the north of the port's buoyed channel after breaking down in the North Channel the previous night.  She spent most of the 6/8/06 undergoing repairs at anchor with spare parts brought out to the vessel from Bangor by Meharg's Bangor Boat. 

3rd August 2006

An unseasonal period of gale force winds on the 3/8/06 caused some havoc to local ferry schedules, in particular those of the European Mariner.

On arrival at Troon early on the 3/8/06 with her regular 1900 freight sailing from Larne the European Mariner experienced some difficult conditions during berthing and ran over one of the perches marking the deep water channel into the port.  The vessel demolished the section of the perch above the waterline but the section below, consisting of a 1 metre diameter steel pipe driven into the harbour bed, caused significant damage to the vessel's rudders and propellers.

European Mariner aborted the attempt to berth and remained off Troon harbour for a while before she returned to Larne on the evening of the 3/8/06 at 1900 still with her cargo embarked at Larne on the 2/8/06 aboard. This cargo was discharged and transferred to Cairnryan sailings as space permitted. Such was European Mariner's disabled state after her encounter with the perch, Svitzer Marine's tug Norton Cross from Belfast came round to help her berth along with Larne's own tug Noleen McLoughlin.

Troon was closed for a time until divers located the perch and marked it with a buoy. This resulted in the cancellation of the early morning round sailing to Troon by the Express on the 3/8/06.  Instead the fast craft carried out an early morning round trip to Cairnryan in addition to her usual timetabled 1255 Cairnryan service.  The perch was marked by the time her evening sailing from Larne was ready and this sailed to Troon as usual. 

Stena Leader also experienced delays to her schedule due to the gales on the 3/8/06.  On arrival off the port at 2030 with her inbound Fleetwood service she remained outside the harbour for a few hours waiting for the gale to subside, she later arrived at 2350 with assistance from tug Noleen McLoughlin and got away again with her 2200 to Fleetwood at 0230 on the 4/8/06.

After spending the 4/8/06 alongside loading spare parts required for repairs, European Mariner departed Larne at 2300 for dry docking in Dublin.  At the moment her usual Troon freight sailings are cancelled with cargo transferred to Cairnryan sailings.

29th July 2006

Larne - Fleetwood vessel Stena Pioneer spent the 29/7/06 laid up at the lay by berth at Stena Line's Belfast terminal undergoing routine maintenance work.  The vessel completed her inbound sailing to Larne on the 29/7/06 and once she had discharged her cargo she departed light ship for Belfast at 0830.  In the 'Pioneer's absence Stena Seafarer covered her schedule departing Larne at 1330, returning to Larne the next day at 1015.

Stena Pioneer returned to Larne from her maintenance lay up at 2245 on the evening of the 29/7/06 and re-entered Fleetwood service the next day with the 1000 sailing from Larne.

27th July 2006

P&O's European Highlander returned to Larne after her overhaul in Falmouth on the 27/7/06 berthing at MacKean Quay at 0845.  The vessel spent the rest of the day getting ready to re-enter service on the Larne - Cairnryan route.  She departed the port for a brief spell at 1150 to make compass adjustments before returning to Curran Quay at 1350 to make further preparations prior to her reintroduction to full time service. 

After the European Causeway had vacated the usual loading berth at MacKean Quay when she sailed at 1930 to Cairnryan, the European Highlander shifted up to MacKean Quay to load cargo.  She re-entered service with an unscheduled service to Cairnryan departing Larne at 2240, with the usual Cairnryan schedule operated by the Causeway and Highlander returning to full swing the next day.

The European Highlander's return to service allowed the European Mariner to stand down from her temporary overhaul relief cover on the Cairnryan route.  The European Mariner's final sailing on the Cairnryan route for now was the 1330 ex Cairnryan on the 27/7/06 with the vessel returning to her regular daily round sailing on the Troon freight roster.

Express Technical Problems

24th July 2006

P&O fast craft Express encountered some technical difficulties on the 23/7/06 which resulted in the cancellation of a number of her sailings.

Departing broadly on time with her 1255 sailing from Larne to Cairnryan, the vessel suffered a technical problem at the Scottish port and her return sailing was cancelled.  Divers were sent over from Larne on the next sailing, the European Causeway's delayed 1630 to Cairnryan, which had been held back until 1800 to accommodate passengers from the cancelled 1730 Express sailing to Troon.

The divers, working along with the ship's crew were able to make temporary repairs to the Express and she returned to Larne at 0330 on the 24/7/06.  Further repairs were made over subsequent nights but there were no further cancelled sailings.

Athena Returns

21st July 2006

Cruise ship Athena which had departed the port of Larne on a cruise on the 11/7/06 returned her passengers to the port at the conclusion of their Mediterranean cruise on the 21/7/06.  The cruise ship berthed on Curran Quay at 0840 assisted by the tugs Norton Cross from Belfast and Noleen McLoughlin from Larne, which was on pilot boat duty.  Her passengers were disembarked at the port and the ship departed again to set down her Scottish passengers in Greenock at 1140.

To make way for the cruise ship European Mariner used MacKean Quay instead of her usual berth at Curran Quay to load for the 0930 sailing to Cairnryan.  The European Mariner had earlier discharged her inbound Troon cargo at Curran Quay prior to shifting to MacKean once European Causeway had vacated that berth with her 0730 service to Cairnryan.

14th July 2006

A number of ferry services from Larne were subject to alteration over the July holiday period in Northern Ireland as the proportion of freight traffic through the port dropped off due to the holidays in local industry to be replaced instead by heavy tourist traffic.

The 11/7/06 saw the Cairnryan service begin to operate a reduced schedule.  The European Causeway stood down from service on arrival in Larne with her 1630 sailing from Cairnryan.  Once she discharged on MacKean Quay she shifted to Curran Quay for a few days to undergo maintenance work on board.  During this time out of service, a dive survey on the vessel was carried out on the 12/7/06.

To cover the absence of the 'Causeway, European Mariner provided some cover trips to Cairnryan in between her own Troon trips to help take some pressure of European Highlander.  The 'Mariner's usual Troon freight sailings at 1900 ex Larne and 0230 ex Troon were maintained over the entire holiday period.

After her maintenance lay up, European Causeway returned to service with the 0730 service to Cairnryan on the 13/7/06, which sailed from Curran Quay behind schedule at 0810.  The vessel was taking over the Cairnryan service from sister ship European Highlander, which stood down with the 0415 from Cairnryan and was alongside the usual MacKean Quay berthin Larne loading equipment prior to her own annual overhaul.  Once this was loaded the European Highlander sailed from the port at 0845 for dry docking at A&P Falmouth.

In the absence of one of the Cairnryan conventional ferries a revised Cairnryan timetable was brought into operation from the 12/7/06 and will continue in effect until the return of European Highlander from overhaul:

EC = European Causeway, EM = European Mariner, EXP = Express

P&O's fast ferry services continued to operate as normal during the holiday period and the Troon freight service carried out by European Mariner was similarly unaffected.  Engine difficulties previously reported aboard Express, which led to the cancellation or late running of sailings on the 9/7/06 and 10/7/06 were resolved on the 11/7/06 allowing the vessel to return to her normal operating speed on passage.

Stena Line's Fleetwood service also had some minor alterations over the holiday period.  The normal schedule operated by Stena Seafarer was withdrawn on the 12/7/06 after her arrival in Larne with the 0300 ex Fleetwood.  The sailing was similarly cancelled on the 13/7/06 and it did not resume until the 1600 ex Larne on the 14/7/06.  In the meantime, Stena Seafarer sailed in place of Stena Leader on the 12/7/06 allowing the 'Leader some time off for maintenance.  The Stena Leader returned to schedule on the 13/7/06 with the 2200 ex Larme allowing the Stena Seafarer to have some maintenance herself over the night of the 13/7/06 before she resumed her schedule on the 14/7/06.  Stena Pioneer sailed over the holiday period without a break and despite the practice of previous years of sending the Fleetwood ferries for their annual dry docking in the summer during the freight season slack, this year Stena are maintaining a full 3 ship Fleetwood schedule during July and August.

Some snaps taken over the July holiday week showing some of the unusual movements over that time can be accessed here.

Cruising from Larne

11th July 2006

Cruise ship Athena paid a visit to the Port of Larne on the 11/7/06.  For a special photo feature of her arrival please click here.

10th July 2006

P&O fast craft Express experienced engine trouble on the 9/7/06 which resulted in all her 3 scheduled sailings for the day running late.  Instead of finishing the day as scheduled at 2210, Express didn't finish the day's sailings until 0050 on the 10/7/06. 

Problems continued on the 10/7/06 and the Cairnryan round sailing at 1300 ex Larne was cancelled and traffic transferred to the European Highlander's 1330 sailing, which departed just as Express was coming alongside from her morning Troon round trip, normally due around 1200.

Causeway and Highlander Get Together

9th July 2006

It is extremely rare to catch the Cairnryan twins in port together and since the Highlander was introduced in 2002, there have only been a handful of instances when the event has occurred.  On the night of the 8/7/06 into the 9/7/06 another occasion was added to the list of times the two vessels have been in Larne at the same time.

This time an MES change aboard European Causeway saw the ship in Larne during her Saturday night lay over period instead of Cairnryan, joining European Highlander, which normally spends Saturday night lay over in Larne.  To facilitate the MES change over, the European Causeway had left Larne with her 2000 sailing to Cairnryan on the 8/7/06 an hour earlier at 1900.  She returned to Larne without cargo at 2300 berthing stern first on MacKean Quay to give access by mobile crane from the quayside to her port side MES system.

European Highlander had earlier arrived on her usual 2000 ex Cairnryan service at 2210 and was loaded so she could discharge at the single tier ramp at Curran Quay, where she spent her Saturday night lay up.

In the morning, European Causeway sailed light to Cairnryan in the early hours once the MES switch had been made.  This allowed her to pick up her scheduled 0730 sailing ex Cairnryan.  Once European Causeway had vacated her berth European Highlander made the switch to MacKean Quay to enable two tier loading for her own 0730 service to Cairnryan.

To facilitate both Cairnryan ships being in port at the same time, European Mariner and Stena Seafarer spent their weekend laid up at anchor.  European Mariner spent the night of the 8-9/7/06 anchored off number 1 buoy Larne while Stena Seafarer anchored in Belfast Lough.

Coaster Call

4th July 2006

Coastal cargo vessel Ranafjord made a visit to the port of Larne on the 1/7/06.  The ship arrived at 1900 loaded with a cargo of dolomite chippings.  She was escorted into the harbour by Noleen McLoughlin which had earlier taken out the local pilot to board the inward vessel just off number 1 buoy.

Discharge of the ship's cargo commenced on the 3/7/06 and was completed the next day with the vessel departing Larne again on the 4/7/06 at 1645.