HOME

LATEST

HISTORY

LINKS

25th March 2007

Larne - Troon freight vessel European Mariner continued her weekend charter work that she stated the previous week carrying wind turbine parts from Campbeltown.  She left Larne on Saturday morning at 0930 after discharging from her inbound Troon freight sailing bound for Campbeltown.  She loading wind turbine parts there and transported these to Troon for discharge.  After spending the night in Troon the vessel returned to Larne the next day arriving at 1440 and picked up her regular sailing diagram to Troon with the 1900 sailing later that evening.

22nd March 2007

Two tugs of the John McLoughlin fleet bade farewell to the Port of Larne setting sail for further work in pastures new under new owners.

First to leave was the largest tug in the fleet, the former Mersey veteran Samuel F.  She was bought for further service in the Mediterranean Sea working at tuna fish farms.  A delivery crew arrived in Larne a few weeks before she departed and they worked on the tug to prepare her for her trip to new waters.  She left Larne at 2030 on the 21/3/07 first bound for Howth to be dry docked prior to heading to warmer waters.

On the following day it was the turn of Donna McLoughlin to leave Larne bound for the Clyde.  Donna McLoughlin is no stranger to Scottish waters having spent several years on charter to Seacat based at Stranraer to assist their fast craft operations on the Belfast route.

Gales Once Again Cause Delays

21st March 2007

The dreaded north westerly gales paid a visit to the North Channel over a four day spell from the 17/3/07 to the 20/3/07 causing disruption to the normal ferry traffic from the Port of Larne.

Worst hit by the weather was fast craft Express which cancelled her 1730 Troon sailing on the 17/3/07 and did not sail again until the 1255 to Cairnryan on the 20/3/07.  More on this can be read in the next news story.

Cairnryan conventional services also felt the strain of the severe weather which made berthing extremely difficult and with the large volume of cargo diverted to them from cancelled sailings elsewhere turn round times were greatly extended.  This caused delays to sailings and by the 20/3/07 there was no hope of catching up the time lost so both ships settled down into the opposite roster from normal one trip behind schedule.  An extra trip was operated the following Sunday, 25/3/07 at 1030 from each side to get the ships back on their usual rosters.

European Mariner's Troon freight schedule also missed a trip due to the gales.  She left Larne at 1000 on the 17/3/07 on a windmill trip from Campbeltown to Troon and subsequently got stormbound in Troon that evening as the weather deteriorated.  She never made it back to Larne as planned on the Sunday, 18/3/07 remaining in Troon so her 1900 sailing from Larne that evening was subsequently missed as a result.  She did however make it to Larne on the 19/3/07 berthing at Curran Quay at 0700 and battled on with all her sailings from that date until the weather moderated.

Fleetwood sailings were also disrupted, Stena Seafarer and Stena Leader both had to shelter from the weather off the east of the Isle of Man on the 18/3/07 on their way to Fleetwood from Larne.  Stena Seafarer was the first to complete her voyage around 2100 on the 18/3/07 after Stena Leader had failed on her attempt to get in to Fleetwood earlier in the day.  Having left Larne on the 17/3/07 at 1700 this marked the end of a marathon 28 hour crossing for the 'Seafarer.  She reloaded and sailed back to Larne allowing Stena Leader into Fleetwood early on the following morning the 19/3/07 after another 24 hour plus crossing instead of the usual 8 hours.

Meanwhile, Stena Pioneer was in Larne sitting out for the weekend undergoing planned maintenance work being deputised by Stena Seafarer.  The 'Pioneer was due to return to service on the morning of the 18/3/07 sailing at 1000 from Larne but with her two fleet mates caught out in the rough there was little sense in her sailing until some positive news on their progress reached Larne.  The ship sat alongside at Larne and filled out with cargo as the day wore on.  Once news of both the 'Seafarer and 'Leader making progress in their attempts to make it into Fleetwood, Stena Pioneer set off into the rough weather on her own voyage to Fleetwood at 2359 on the 18/3/07.

On their return to Larne from Fleetwood on the 19/3/07 both Stena Seafarer and Stena Leader sailed to shelter off the northerly port limits awaiting a moderation in the 50+knot winds sweeping through the port during most of the day.  After the European Mariner sailed to Troon at 1900 both ships were able to get into the 'Mariner's sheltered berth at Curran Quay in turn and discharge their cargo.  Stena Seafarer subsequently sat out for a round trip to regain her schedule on the 20/3/07 with the 1600 sailing from Larne while Stena Pioneer and Stena Leader worked on with their usual rosters with the morning and evening sailings from Larne respectively.

Express Commences her Summer Schedule

16th March 2007

P&O's fast craft Express kicked off her regular summer sailing schedule on the 16/3/07 with her first sailing departing Larne for Troon at 0715.  She had a reasonably busy first day in service with traffic from Northern Ireland taking advantage of the St Patrick's bank holiday weekend for short breaks in Scotland.

Her second day in service proved to be a bit more difficult as gales began to pick up throughout the day.  She ended her day prematurely on arrival in Larne at 1630 after her 1500 sailing from Cairnryan.  Fast craft traffic was subsequently transferred to Cairnryan conventional ferry sailings with the 1630 service to Cairnryan held back to 1700 to accommodate passengers and cars for the 1730 Express service to Troon.

The gales continued over the following number of days keeping the craft stormbound in Larne alongside her Chaine Quay berth.  She next sailed again with her 1255 service to Cairnryan on the 20/3/07 in less than favourable conditions but she managed to complete that crossing and her evening round trip to Troon that day.  With wind strength and swell height rapidly decreasing as the weather improved all sailings got back to normal on the 21/3/07.

The fast ferry operation is to continue until the 1/10/07 when Express will probably once again lay up for the winter.

11th March 2007

P&O's fast craft Express carried out her first commercial crossings of the 2007 season over the weekend of the 9/3/07-11/3/07.  One return crossing to Troon was completed on the 9/3/07 leaving Larne shortly after 1100 and returning again at 1720.  The outward crossing was well loaded with rugby fans travelling to Edinburgh to see Ireland take on Scotland.

On the 11/3/07 two return voyages to Troon were operated to take football supporters over to see matches in Glasgow and to bring the rugby fans back.  Sailings departed Larne at 0800 and 1440 with return sailings getting back to Larne at 1400 and 2000.  The first and last crossings of the day were particularly heavily loaded.

Coaster Calls

6th March 2007

Coaster Varanger made a call at Larne's Olderfleet Quay on the 3/3/07.  The vessel berthed at 1130 assisted by pilot boat Noleen McLoughlin.  She had arrived with a cargo of limestone chippings for the local chemical works at Kilwaughter.  Discharge of her cargo commenced on the following Monday, the 5/3/07 using a mobile grab crane dropping the stones directly into articulated 40 foot tipping trailers.  Discharge was completed the following morning and after resolving a few technical difficulties on board Varanger departed at 1715.  Sarah McLoughlin was pilot boat for the outward journey.

Although it was a new name in Larne Harbour's arrival book, Varanger is not a new ship to the port.  Between this call and her last call at Larne in July 2006 the vessel has been renamed Varanger from her previous identity of Ranafjord.

Gales Return

6th March 2007

Some severe south easterly gales over a three day spell staring on the 4/3/07 brought some disruption to a number of ferries operating from Larne.

Normally able to take gales in her stride, European Causeway had to delay her usual sailing from Larne at 1300 on the 4/3/07 due to the strength of the wind, gusting in excess of 50kts, pinning her on to her berth.  With maneuvering room at a premium with a coaster ahead of her on Olderfleet Quay and Express on Chaine Quay, European Causeway waited until 1440 when the wind had eased to a marginally more manageable 35kts before she departed.  This delay caused knock on delays to running mate European Highlander but by the following day both ships had picked up the lost time without having to miss any sailings.  Loadings on the Cairnryan ships that evening were particularly heavy as Stena had cancelled sailings on the Belfast - Stranraer route and re-routed some of their traffic via P&O.

The same gales on the 4/3/07 resulted in the Fleetwood route suffering one cancelled round trip as Stena Seafarer missed out her usual 1600 sailing from Larne.  Spending the weekend at anchor, Stena Seafarer was at sea during the height of the gale around lunchtime on the 4/3/07.  She was forced to move to more sheltered waters in Belfast Lough to ride out the storm.  She was able to return to Larne after the gales abated and resumed her usual sailing schedule at 1600 the following day.

Larne - Troon freight sailings by European Mariner also experienced a number of delays due to the gales, however any time lost on delayed sailings was made up for by reducing her lay up period in Larne to compensate.

25th February 2007

The Port of Larne turned in excellent figures for ro-ro freight passing through the port during 2006.  Total figures for freight across the 3 ro-ro routes from the port showed an increase of around 10,000 units over 2005 up to almost 425,000 freight units.  P&O's Cairnryan route had a record breaking year smashing the quarter of a million mark with its best figures ever and Stena Line's Fleetwood service also showed an excellent 3.5% increase in freight traffic over 2005.

News was not quite so good in the tourist passenger and car market with traffic levels dropping as low cost airlines continued to make inroads into this sector of the market.  However, Larne's ro-ro services were not alone in suffering this down turn with other ports also seeing decreases in their tourist market carryings, but with their strong freight focus Larne's route are much better placed to remain competitive in the ever shrinking market place caused by the exodus to the low cost airlines.

The full press release on its 2006 performance is available on the Port of Larne's website by clicking here.

25th February 2007

Fast craft Express returned to Larne from her Falmouth overhaul at 2320 on the 21/2/07.  The vessel once again made a stop at Rosslare on her voyage north between approx. 1430 and 1715 to take on bunkers.  The vessel has been given a slightly modified livery this year the main addition being the web address POirishsea.com along her sides.  This had previously appeared on artist's impressions of the fast ferry but up to now had not been a part of her actually livery.  Its introduction reflects the growing importance of web bookings. and in particular, P&O's decision to employ a fluid pricing structure this year where fares are based on the ship's load factors in a similar way low cost airlines work out their fares.  In this way people who make early web bookings can usually pick up some bargain crossings.

Since the vessel and her crew has been away at dry dock enjoying the hospitality of Cornwall, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has revealed some of its plans for her employment at this year's TT festival on the island.  For the first time Express will be chartered to make a voyage from Troon to Douglas to satisfy demand from Scottish travellers wishing to visit the Isle of Man during the TT races.  The sailing has been scheduled for the 2/6/07 departing Troon at 2100.  This will result in the cancellation of her usual 2020 service to Larne that evening and on return from Douglas the vessel will travel to Larne to pick up her usual Larne - Troon schedule at 0715 the following morning.

A further charter to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company that was on the horizon has however fallen through.  The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's two fast craft are both currently out of action in dry dock for repairs: Superseacat Two is waiting on a new gearbox and Sea Express I is out of service after being holed in a collision with another ship in the River Mersey.  Tentative plans were being considered to use Express on Douglas to Liverpool sailings to cover the absence of both fast craft for a brief period in early March prior to the commencement of her summer season for P&O.  

With the rush to get away for the March Isle of Man charter now no longer an issue, the vessel will complete final preparations for service alongside at Larne over the next few weeks.  She took another step towards that goal on the 23/2/07 when her annual MES deployment was carried out alongside Larne's Curran Quay.  She will re-enter service with some special sailings on the 9/3/07 and the 11/3/07 in connection with a Scotland v Ireland rugby international in Edinburgh prior to picking up her regular summer season on the 16/3/07.  

19th February 2007

P&O's Dublin - Liverpool freight vessel Norbay arrived in Larne on the 18/2/07 to undergo an underwater hull inspection.  The vessel arrived from Dublin at 1045 and berthed on Curran Quay.  She spent the rest of the day alongside while divers carried out the hull inspection.  Work was completed by the end of the day and Norbay departed the following morning at 0940 to pick up her schedule that evening with the 2200 service from Dublin.

11th February 2007

Irish Light's tender Granuaile paid a visit to Larne on the 11/2/07.  The vessel arrived from Belfast shortly after 1000 and her launch went ashore to Ballylumford to pick up equipment at the Ferris Point depot.  The ship moved off later that morning and carried out maintenance at the South and North Hunter buoys.

11th February 2007

The Larne - Fleetwood route's winter dry docking program came to an end when Stena Seafarer returned to service on the 11/2/07 after a brief two day dry docking at Birkenhead.

The 'Seafarer stood down from service after her 0300 sailing ex Fleetwood on the 8/2/07.  She discharged the cargo from this sailing in Larne and sailed at 1400 for Birkenhead.  The vessel returned to service with a 1530 sailing from Larne on the 11/2/07 after travelling light ship from dry dock to Larne to take up service.

The brief dry docking facilitated renewal of her passenger certificate, some of the inspections required for the renewal were carried out alongside at Larne during the days leading up to the dry docking with surveyors going aboard the 'Seafarer to inspect the vessel and her lifesaving equipment. 

MacKean Ramp gets a Hydraulic Boost

4th February 2007

The MacKean Quay ramp was temporarily out of action for a few hours on the 4/2/07 to facilitate maintenance work at one of the hydraulic rams which support the adjustable lower deck of the ramp.  

Normally used by the Larne - Cairnryan vessels, the closure of MacKean Quay resulted in two sailings having to be diverted into the single tier ramp at Curran Quay.  European Causeway used Curran Quay for her 0930/1300 arrival and departure while European Highlander used it for her usual 1500/1630 arrival and departure.  Both ferries worked their upper freight decks using their internal ramps and this caused some delays to their normal schedules.  MacKean Quay was reopened by the time European Causeway made it to Larne with her 1830 arrival, just in time for her to receive a full load of freight outward for her 2000 service back to Cairnryan.

3rd February 2007

Fast craft Express left Larne at 0045 on the 3/2/07 bound for annual overhaul at Falmouth.  The vessel called at Rosslare enroute for bunkers at 0950 later on that same morning.  The craft is scheduled to return to Larne in late February to give sufficient time to make final preparations prior to recommencing summer sailings with a special trip on the 9/3/07 to accommodate rugby fans travelling to the Scotland v Ireland six nations match at Murrayfield, Edinburgh.

During her 6 day spell at Larne after returning from winter lay up in Belfast the fast craft was out on sea trials on two occasions, first on the 28/1/07 and again on the afternoon of the 30/1/07.

Coaster Calls

31st January 2007

Coastal cargo vessel Stina made a call at Larne Harbour with a cargo of silver sand from Loch Alainn on the 31/1/07.  The ship arrived at Olderfleet Quay at 0350 with discharge of the cargo commencing later on in the morning.  Cargo discharge was completed by late afternoon the same day and the ship sailed at 1645 back to Loch Alainn.  Local tug Sarah McLoughlin served as pilot boat on both the inward and outward movements of the coaster.

Stina is a regular coaster caller to Larne Harbour making perhaps one or two calls each year usually with silver sand for the local Kilwaughter chemical works, her last visit to the port was in August 2006.

29th January 2007

The Larne - Fleetwood overhaul schedule made continued progress with the redelivery of Stena Pioneer back into front line service again on the 26/1/07.  The vessel completed annual overhaul on the 25/1/07 at Birkenhead and departed for Larne at around 1430.  She berthed at Larne the next day at 0350 to load for her first sailing to Fleetwood, which departed at 0830.

Keeping the Fleetwood service going in the absence of Stena Pioneer  the remaining two vessels Stena Leader and Stena Seafarer had been groaning under the weight of the large volume of cargo on offer in recent days.  Both vessels had been experiencing some long turn rounds but with the change to some fairer weather in the past week at least weather delays were no longer causing the problems that had been so prevalent in recent weeks.

In a break from the norm, all three vessels continued working throughout the weekend of the 27th and 28th of January in an effort to clear the cargo backlog.  Stena Seafarer made an extra voyage departing Larne at 1320 on Saturday 27/1/07 returning the next day with pretty much her lower deck filled with new caravans from Fleetwood that had been awaiting shipment to Northern Ireland.

With weather conditions for once giving the ships a fair breeze for what may be the first time this winter, normal running on the route resumed the next week from Monday the 29/1/07.  Pioneer, Seafarer and Leader quickly returned to their normal stride re-establishing themselves on their usual sailing slots at 1000, 1600 and 2200 ex Larne respectively.

Express Returns from Winter Lay up

28th January 2007

Fast craft Express returned to Larne after spending the winter laid up out of service at Donegall Quay, Belfast.

The vessel departed Belfast shortly before 1000 on the 28/1/07, making it to Larne for 1130 later on that same morning, berthing as usual at Chaine Quay.  She was out later on in the afternoon of the 28/1/07 on sea trials.

During her winter off service the crew of the Express has been busy preparing her for the forthcoming summer.  She has had extensive work done on her machinery systems with 3 of her 4 Caterpillar main engines getting a through overhaul being stripped and completely rebuilt under close cooperation with Caterpillar engineers.

Express will lay up at Larne for the next few days prior to sailing for dry docking at Falmouth. 

European Mariner RfD Testing

24th January 2007

RfD were once again testing their new life raft designs at Larne Harbour using European Mariner as the launching platform.

The ship had been set up with the life raft gear over a two day period starting on the 21/1/07.  The following day, 22/1/07, European Mariner was turned starboard side to her Curran Quay berth to allow access by crane to put the finishing touches to the life raft equipment set up on her starboard side.  The drop was carried out on the 24/1/07 with Larne's lifeboat Dr John McSparran in attendance as a standby safety vessel.

Weather Delays Begin to Settle 

24th January 2007

With the recent prolonged spell of gales causing major disruption to ferry schedules it came as a welcome change that at least for a few days gales were no longer to be the dominant feature.

Stena's Larne - Fleetwood service, which had probably suffered the longest delays of the three Larne routes at the hands of the gales, returned to something approaching normality on the 21/1/07 with Stena Leader taking the morning sailing from Larne.  Stena Seafarer arrived on the 21/1/07 at 1140 but was held until the evening and gave a sailing at 2000 from Larne.  Both ships continued more or less unchanged throughout the rest of the following week with Stena Leader sailing mornings from Larne and Stena Seafarer being the night boat. As the volume of cargo increased towards the end of the week pressure was being put on turn rounds and low tides at Fleetwood began to coincide with the vessels' arrival and sailing times both conspiring to cause a few hours delay as the week progressed.

European Mariner's sailings from Larne to Troon were also badly hit in recent weeks with the weather.  She spent most of the 20/1/07 sheltering off Arran awaiting a moderation in conditions so she could berth at Troon.  She returned to Larne at 1530 on the 21/1/07 and with the gales quieting down she put in some creditable timings the following week on her Troon freight schedule.

20th January 2007

Weather and technical difficulties continue to cause major headaches for Stena Line's Larne - Fleetwood service.

Working a two ship service Stena Leader and Stena Seafarer managed to return to running somewhere near normality on the 15/1/06 when Stena Leader provided a morning sailing from Larne and Stena Seafarer provided the usual overnight sailing ex Larne.  This however lasted only a single day as engine repairs necessitated Stena Leader missing a trip on the 16/1/07.  The vessel remained at Continental Quay after arriving from Fleetwood at 1315 to undergo repairs.  Meanwhile Stena Seafarer kept the service going and used Curran Quay that evening for her turnaround.

Stena Leader returned to service on the 17/1/07 sailing from Larne at 0950.  By this stage gales were lashing the Irish Sea once again and it took until approx 2200 on the 18/1/07 before Stena Leader made it to Fleetwood; a crossing time of around 36 hours.  With Stena Leader getting rough weather out in the middle, Stena Seafarer, which made it to Larne at 2300 that night, was reloaded with unaccompanied freight early on the 18/1/07 and remained alongside awaiting word on Stena Leader's progress.  A lull in the weather late on the 18/1/07 allowed Stena Leader to make progress to Fleetwood from shelter off the east of the Isle of Man and with that news received Stena Seafarer left Larne at 2130 to make her own way to Fleetwood.

Whilst Stena Line was suffering some extreme misfortune, P&O also experienced some difficulties with their own services from Larne to Troon and Cairnryan.  European Mariner had a particularly rough crossing to Larne from Troon on the 18/1/07 and limped into Larne on one engine at 1710 just over 10 hours late.  She was assisted on to her berth by 2 tugs but was fixed in time to take a delayed freight sailing to Troon the following morning at 0150, which returned to Larne at 1300 on the afternoon of the 19/1/07.

Larne - Cairnryan schedules were delayed by around 2 hours due to gales during the morning and early afternoon on the 18/1/07 but the two vessels picked up all lost time during the night and were on schedule by the morning of the 19/1/07.

Cairnryan ferries have the cleanest loos in Britain

17th January 2007

Story from the Wigtown Free Press

http://www.stranraer-freepress.co.uk/ 

P&O Irish Sea have cleaned up in this year's 'Loo of the Year' Awards, collecting three top accolades for their restroom facilities and cleaning services on their Cairnryan to Larne service.

They receiving a five star accolade for standards of cleanliness and hygiene on board both the European Highlander and European Causeway superferries and won a second award in the National category for Land Sea and Air.  To round things off they received the prestigious National award for Northern Ireland Attendant of the Year (Internal cleaning team)

The annual Loo of the Year Awards competition, established in 1987, is designed to encourage the provision of higher standards of 'away from home' toilets in all non- domestic locations.  To ensure a constantly high standard of service an unannounced inspector visited the facilities in question to gain a true impression and ensure fair judgement. They were judged on a range of criteria, including signage and decor, fixtures and fittings and overall standard of cleanliness and management.

David Blair of P&O Irish Sea stated, "I am thrilled to receive our awards on behalf of all my colleges at P&O Irish Sea as recognition of our hard work and commitment to ensuring our customer's needs are fulfilled.  "We take great pride in providing a high standard of service for customers travelling on board our superferries and are pleased our dedication has paid off. But we are not resting on our laurels and will continue to ensure that we provide that 'at home' service to all our guests".

18th January 2007

Fast craft P&O Express is due to make a return to scheduled service from Larne for the 2007 summer season on the 16/3/07 and will run until the 1/10/07.  The published timetable shows no change in her schedule for this incoming year with two daily round trips from Larne to Troon sandwiching a single round trip to Cairnryan.  Departure times also remain the same with 0715 and 1730 sailings to Troon either side of a 1255 departure to Cairnryan.  Returns from Troon depart at 1005 and 2020 with the Cairnryan departure once again scheduled for 1500.

Prior to her published start date Express will operate special sailings to Troon on the 9/3/07 and the 11/3/07 to accommodate traffic travelling to see the six nations rugby match between Ireland and Scotland.  A single sailing on the 9/3/07 is scheduled at 1100 ex Larne with two departures on the 11/3/07 provided from Troon at 1200 and 1730.

The fast craft remains laid up at Belfast Donegall Quay with refit work proceeding on the accommodation and the machinery but she will move to dry dock for annual survey in February prior to commencing her season on the North Channel.

It has also recently been reported that P&O have renewed the vessel's charter.  Due to expire in October 2007, the charter has been extended for a further 5 years to 2012.

A Friday to Forget

12th January 2007

Larne harbour was practically closed to shipping for a number of hours on the evening of Friday 12/1/07 as extremely severe off the quay westerly winds made berthing almost impossible.

The last sailing to depart prior to the worst of the weather was European Highlander with the 1330 to Cairnryan but even then during her loading an 80 knot gust blew through the port.  The last arrival was Stena Leader, which berthed with tug assistance at 1415 once European Highlander had cleared the port outward bound.

During Stena Leader's time alongside working cargo she required for the assistance of a tug at around 1530 to push and help keep her alongside the berth as increasing wind strength on the side of her superstructure was putting strain on her moorings.  A second tug was called shortly afterward and a combination of moorings, engines, bow thrusters and the two tugs managed to stabilise her position at the berth although cargo operations had to be stopped for safety reasons.

On arrival with her 1330 ex Cairnryan, European Causeway made two separate attempts to berth at MacKean Quay but was forced to return to sea both times, beaten back by the gales.

By early evening Stena Leader was still at Continental Quay with the two tugs valiantly pushing to help hold her in.  European Causeway was waiting off the port limits on a moderation in conditions and she was joined by Stena Seafarer inward from Fleetwood and European Mariner inward from Troon.  European Causeway's third berthing attempt was successful at 2200 and European Mariner followed her in at 2215.  Stena Leader stood down the two tugs at 2230 after the wind began to ease down and she restarted loading operations.

There was a flurry of movements over the next few hours into the morning of the 13/1/07 as the ships restarted sailings to help move cargo that had built up the evening before.  European Causeway sailed at 2340 while European Highlander berthed from Cairnryan at midnight, turning round to sail again at 0155.  The Cairnryan ships sailed a shuttle service during the night to make up for the sailings lost and didn't pick up schedule again until the afternoon.  European Mariner reloaded and sailed for Troon at 0050 while Stena Leader got away at 0145 allowing Stena Seafarer to berth at 0230, she sailed again for Fleetwood at 0930.

13th January 2007

As is often the case when a ship returns from dry dock the post overhaul gremlins can strike and they strike they did rendering Stena Leader out of service for a couple of days.

The 'Leader had made her usual night crossing from Larne on the 9/1/07 arriving in Fleetwood the next morning.  However she was unable to complete her scheduled return voyage to Larne as technical problems forced her to remain tied up at Fleetwood.

With the 'Leader at Fleetwood on the only ro-ro berth at the Lancashire port this prevented Stena Seafarer from making her sailing from Larne as there was no berth available on arrival at Fleetwood.  She remained tied up in Larne on the 10/1/07, although she was loaded with unaccompanied cargo ready to sail as soon as there was some positive progress on the resolution of Stena Leader's technical problems.

Stena Seafarer set sail for Fleetwood on the 11/1/07 at 0810 but was forced to shelter off the east of the Isle of Man as Stena Leader did not sail until early on the 12/1/07.  Stena Seafarer was then able to get into Fleetwood on the morning of the 12/1/07 after spending around 20 hours at sea.  The 'Leader arrived in Larne later on that afternoon at 1415 at the completion of her first trip after the breakdown.

9th January 2007

Stena Line's Larne - Fleetwood dry docking program continued making progress with the redelivery of Stena Leader into full time service after a two week annual overhaul carried out by North Western Ship Repair at their Birkenhead dry dock facility.

The Stena Leader departed dry dock at Birkenhead early on the 8/1/07 setting sail for Fleetwood.  She loaded cargo there and re-entered service with the morning sailing to Larne, departing Fleetwood at 1030.

Aside from the usual work carried out during the annual overhaul Stena Leader has been fitted with a new stern ramp.  This has been designed specifically for the shore linkspan she uses at  Continental Quay, Larne and as such its outer end has been reduced in width compared to the previous ramp.  This allows it to fit between the piling protecting the shore ramp and thus land on the deck of the linkspan.  With the previous wider ramp Stena Leader had to sit off the berth by several feet and use the fingers of the shore ramp to make the connection between ship and shore.  Her unusual stern first arrival in the dry dock at Birkenhead rather than the more normal bow first arrival was specifically to facilitate the stern ramp change.

Stena Leader has also returned resplendent in a new coat of paint and her previous battleship gray boot topping, which appeared highly susceptible in recent months to excessive marine growth, has been replaced with red.

The return of Stena Leader to service allows fleet mate Stena Pioneer to stand down for her own overhaul.  The Pioneer discharged cargo in Fleetwood from her overnight sailing from Larne on the 8/1/07 and left for dry dock at Birkenhead, arriving there at approx. 1400 on the 9/1/07.