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29th September 2007

European Mariner undertook a charter sailing on the 29/9/07 from Campbeltown to Larne with wind turbine parts.

The ship left Larne at 1000 bound for Campbeltown to pick up the turbine towers.  She returned later that evening at 1930 berthing on Curran Quay.  The wind turbine towers were unloaded the following morning for onward shipment by road.  

Express Disruption

25th September 2007

Fast craft Express suffered a weather cancellation to her schedules on the 25/9/07.  The ship missed her afternoon Cairnryan round trip due to bad weather but her morning and evening round trips to Troon operated as normal.  Traffic for the Cairnryan fast craft sailings were transferred to conventional ferry sailings, which were operating as normal.

Medical Emergency

24th September 2007

Shortly after departing Larne with her 1030 sailing to Cairnryan on the 24/9/07 European Causeway turned back to port to put ashore a medical emergency which had developed on board after she had cast off.  The ship returned to Larne at 1130 landing an elderly women into the care of waiting medical staff prior to getting away again at 1230.  

Having accumulated a 2 hour delay the following European Highlander  was held back to give the European Causeway opportunity to get some of her lost time clawed back.  'Highlander's 1330 sailing from Larne was delayed by 40 minutes but by the end of the day both conventional ships were back on schedule.

Larne's First Taste of Autumn Gales

17th September 2007

Larne ships suffered the first disruptions due to gales of the autumn when some strong northerly winds swept through the region on the 17/9/07.

Stena Seafarer felt the strain first when arriving off the port with her 0300 service from Fleetwood.  The vessel berthed with the assistance of tug Leanne McLoughlin at 1130 in over 40 knot gusts but with the wind remaining strong from the north driving in large swells towards the 'Seafarer's exposed berth on Continental Quay her position there was becoming less secure.  The ship discharged her cargo and then put to sea at 1230 as a safety precaution.  Orders were later relayed to the ship to proceed light to Fleetwood to pick up her run again her 1600 sailing from Larne being cancelled.

Fleetmate Stena Leader also experienced difficulty at the exposed Continental Quay when she arrived later that evening at 1900.  Tug Sarah McLoughlin assisted the 'Leader in getting alongside the berth and in light of the 'Seafarer's experience earlier in the day, the Stena Leader's master kept Sarah McLoughlin on standby until 2230 when she had completed cargo operations and departed back to Fleetwood.

Fast craft Express also had a tough time getting into port with her 1005 sailing from Troon.  Arriving off the port at 1300 the craft failed to berth at Chaine Quay despite the best efforts of tug Leanne McLoughlin.  Express put back to sea and rode out the storm for almost 2 hours before attempting to berth again at 1455, this time successfully with the assistance of Sarah McLoughlin.  With the continuing poor weather the sailings for the rest of the day were cancelled and all fast craft traffic transferred via the Larne - Cairnryan route's conventional vessels.  The fast ferry returned to normal running the next day.

16th September 2007

Larne - Troon's freight vessel European Mariner recommenced her charter work transporting wind turbine equipment from Campbeltown after a three month break over the summer.

European Mariner left Larne bound for Campbeltown on the 15/9/07 at 0940 after  discharging from her morning arrival from Troon.  Problems were encountered in Campbeltown during loading operations of the turbine towers which delayed her departure and with a fresh south westerly breeze the ship diverted from the planned anchorage off Larne harbour to Troon harbour where she spent the night.

The 'Mariner returned to Larne at 1300 on the 16/9/07 and discharged the turbine towers at Curran Quay.  She later reloaded with freight  for Troon and sailed at 1900  back on her usual roster.

Express Misses a Trip

10th September 2007

Fast craft Express missed her final Troon round trip from Larne on the 10/9/07 with a technical problem.  

The vessel arrived into Larne with her 1500 from Cairnryan at 1630 but failed to berth on this occasion and went back out to sea.  She berthed successfully on the second attempt at 1745 and was withdrawn for repairs, her 1730 to Troon being cancelled.  Stranded traffic was transferred to Cairnryan conventional ferry sailings as space permitted but with their usual heavy freight loadings in the evenings European Highlander and European Causeway were unable to take it all and some was diverted via Stena Line's Belfast - Stranraer service.

Divers attended to Express during the night to carry out repairs and she re-entered service for the following morning with her 0715 to Troon.

2nd September 2007

Stena Seafarer, working alongside Stranraer based conventional ferry Stena Caledonia, provided temporary relief cover for high speed fleet companion Stena Voyager on the Belfast to Stranraer route on the 2/9/07.  

Stena Voyager was taken out of service at Stranraer in the early hours of Sunday the 2/9/07 after her 0010 arrival at the Scottish port to undergo planned maintenance.  This was scheduled to last until mid morning meaning her 0455 ex Stranraer and 0735 ex Belfast would be missed, the fast craft not due to return to service until her 0955 sailing from Stranraer.

Help was at hand however as Fleetwood's Stena Seafarer shifted from her normal weekend lay up at Larne and took the 0455 ex Stranraer while Stena Caledonia provided the 0735 from Belfast.  Stena Seafarer arrived in Belfast around 0830, discharged her cargo and was back in Larne at 1120 ready to re-enter Fleetwood service again with the 1600 sailing.  Stena Voyager, meanwhile got back in action as planned with her 0955 service to Belfast.

31st August 2007

Stena Pioneer got back into front line service again on the Larne - Fleetwood route on the 31/8/07 after a much longer than expected maintenance lay over which ultimately became repairs to her starboard engine. 

As a brief reminder of the story so far recounted below in the news item dated 27/8/07, Stena Pioneer had been scheduled to be off service from early on Saturday 25/8/07 until Monday 27/8/07 undergoing planned maintenance work at Stena Line's lay by berth in Belfast.  Due to pick up her regular Fleetwood schedule again with the morning sailing from Larne on the 27/8/07, Stena Pioneer returned to Larne from Belfast on one engine that morning at 0300 with the intention being to have both engines fully restored to working order again by the time she was loaded and ready to depart for Fleetwood.  This didn't work out as planned and early on the 27/8/07, before loading of the vessel had started, the decision was taken to cancel her sailing to Fleetwood.  Stena Pioneer moved out to anchor at 0645 to free Continental Quay for the inbound Stena Seafarer, due that morning at 0800 covering on the normal roster worked by Stena Pioneer.  

Problems with the cam shaft of the vessel's starboard engine meant that it was going to take a few days to put right rather than hours and she returned to lay up at Stena's terminal in Belfast at 1300.  Meanwhile, after spending the day alongside in Larne undergoing planned maintenance to her own starboard engine, Stena Seafarer initially reverted back to her usual roster with the 1600 to Fleetwood on the 27/8/07.  She subsequently gave accelerated passages and worked shorter turnarounds over the next few days, gradually working herself on to the Stena Pioneer's usual roster to cover with her own 0300 ex Fleetwood, 1600 ex Larne sailings once again being cancelled.

With her cam shaft repairs completed Stena Pioneer departed Belfast for Larne on the 30/8/07 at approximately 2030 arriving at Continental Quay at 2245 shortly after the departure of Stena Leader on her overnight sailing to Fleetwood.  Laid up at the berth overnight Stena Pioneer commenced loading the following morning and set off for Fleetwood at 0930 on the 31/8/07.  Stena Seafarer, which arrived in Larne at 0945 as temporary cover for the missing Stena Pioneer, was then able to return to her usual sailing pattern with a 1620 departure to Fleetwood later that afternoon.

27th August 2007

Taking advantage of the bank holiday weekend from Saturday the 25th to Monday the 27th of August, both P&O and Stena Line used the lull in freight traffic to allow members of their respective ferry fleet time off for maintenance.

P&O withdrew European Highlander for a planned 3 day spell of maintenance on the 25/8/07 after her 1030 ex Larne.  Once this sailing was discharged in Cairnryan the European Highlander made for Belfast, entering Harland and Wolff's Belfast dry dock at 1600 to have her propeller blades changed and her underwater hull cleaned.  This job was initially scheduled for June and was put back until the August bank holiday weekend.

With freight traffic light, European Causeway, Express and European Mariner were able to keep things moving during European Highlander's absence.  The amended Cairnryan schedule over the 3 days was as follows:

European Highlander was scheduled to return to Larne on Monday the 27/8/07 and re-enter service with her 1630 sailing from Larne.  This deadline was subsequently missed and it wasn't until around 2000 that she departed Belfast arriving in Larne at 2220.  She stored up and entered service one round trip later than planned with the 2359 from Larne, which got away at 0020 on the morning of the 28/8/07.  Thereafter the schedule returned to normal.

Stena Line meanwhile withdrew Stena Pioneer for planned maintenance after her morning arrival in Larne on the 25/8/07.  She shifted round to the Stena Line lay by berth in Belfast and carried out engine maintenance work until Monday the 27/7/07 when she was due to return to Larne to pick up the morning sailing to Fleetwood.  In the intervening period fleet companion Stena Seafarer stepped up the schedule and operated the Pioneer's usual roster from the 25/8/07 with her own sailings being cancelled until the 27/8/07.

Stena Pioneer subsequently returned to Larne from Belfast as planned on the 27/8/07.  She came round on one engine with the plan to have the immobilised engine ready in time for her first sailing back on her run.  This time scale was too short to manage and she cancelled her morning sailing shifting out to anchor at 0645 to continue repairs.  As the morning wore on it was looking less likely that Stena Pioneer would make a prompt return to service and the decision was taken to have her sail back to lay up in Belfast to continue her engine repairs.  Making use of his pilotage exemption certificate for Belfast Harbour, Captain Gerry Hughes of Stena Seafarer was recalled to the ship to pilot her back to Belfast and boarded the 'Pioneer off Larne by Sarah McLoughlin shortly before 1300 prior to the ship heading to Belfast once again.  She was assisted into Stena Line's Albert Quay lay by berth by Svitzer Marine tug Norton Cross around 1545 and has remained out of service continuing repairs.

21st August 2007

Coaster Alexandra S made a call at Larne harbour with a cargo of dolomite chippings from Noway.  The vessel berthed alongside Olderfleet Quay at 1740 on the 19/8/07 with local tug Sarah McLoughlin working as pilot boat. Discharge of her cargo commenced the following morning and was worked through to completion on the 21/8/07, she set sail from Larne light ship later that afternoon at 1540 with Sarah McLoughlin once more on duty as pilot boat.

16th August 2007

Stena's Larne - Fleetwood bounced back to its full 3 ship capacity on the 18/8/07 with the return of Stena Seafarer from her refit at Birkenhead.

Originally scheduled to return with the 0300 ex Fleetwood on the 11/8/07, Stena Seafarer's docking period over ran by a few days and she didn't leave dry dock in Birkenhead until 1415 on the17/8/07.  She made for Fleetwood and anchored off the port prior to coming in to load for her first sailing to Larne, this was the 0300 sailing from Fleetwood on the 18/8/07, which arrived in Larne at 1100 later that morning.  

Stena Seafarer was immediately put to the grindstone by working the evening sailing from Larne to Fleetwood on the 18/8/07 rather than have her normal weekend lay over.  This relief trip gave route companion Stena Leader a break for maintenance alongside Larne's Curran Quay after working continuously without a break since 1/7/07.

The return of Stena Seafarer brings Stena back to full capacity giving them an edge over main competitors Norfolk Line on Belfast - Heysham and Seatruck on Warrenpoint - Heysham, both of whom are operating with vessels missing due to dry docking commitments.

For photos of Stena Seafarer in dry dock follow this link
Additional photos of Stena Seafarer leaving dry dock can be accessed on Irish Sea Shipping here

Coaster Call

12th August 2007

Coastal cargo vessel Doris T made a visit to the Port of Larne on the 12/8/07 when she called into the port with a cargo of silver sand.

Doris T arrived off the port from her loading port of Loch Alainn shortly after 0800 on the 12/8/07 and anchored to await her scheduled berthing slot at 1400 later that afternoon.  Local tug Sarah McLoughlin, doing her first job since having her steering overhauled, delivered the local pilot to Doris T and escorted her into port where she berthed at Olderfleet Quay at 1450.

Discharge of Doris T's cargo of silver sand commenced on the morning of the 13/8/07 and was completed by mid-afternoon.  She departed Larne at 1900 returning to Loch Alainn where she had previously loaded, with Sarah McLoughlin again on pilot boat duty.

Coaster traffic at the port has been disappointingly slack in 2007 with only 4 calls so far this year.  

Mariner Delayed

10th August 2007

European Mariner delayed her usual sailing from Larne to Troon on the 10/8/07 from the normal time of 1900 to undergo engine repairs.  The vessel loaded at her normal time and remained alongside carrying out repairs until 2340 when once again restored to two engines she left for Troon.  Arrival back at Larne the following morning was delayed until 1130 but schedules returned to normal that evening with the usual 1900 sailing time being restored.

5th August 2007

P&O's Dublin - Liverpool vessel Norbank arrived at Larne on the 5/8/07 to undergo a hull survey carried out alongside Curran Quay by divers.

The vessel arrived off the port from Liverpool shortly before 0600 and was tended to by local tug Noleen McLoughlin, which took the local pilot out to the ship.  Norbank later berthed at Curran Quay at 0645 and had divers down taking underwater video of her hull from 0900 to 1330.  With the survey completed, Norbank left Larne just after 1400 bound for Dublin to take up her run that evening with the 2200 to Liverpool.  Noleen McLoughlin once more served as pilot boat after having a busy morning working with the divers out inspecting the Norbank.

26th July 2007

Whilst in dry dock at Birkenhead Larne to Fleetwood vessel Stena Seafarer experienced a fire onboard.

The fire broke out in a store room below her vehicle deck shortly after 2300 on the 26/7/07.  Nobody was hurt in the incident which was quickly brought under control by 6 fire appliances that attended the scene.  

The ship had previously moved to number 7 dry dock on the Birkenhead side of the River Mersey on the 23/7/07 to undergo refit after arriving at a lay by berth in Langton Dock on the 21/7/07.

23rd July 2007

Regular users of the Larne - Cairnryan route were returned to their familiar status quo with the reuniting of the Cairnryan sisters after European Causeway's absence for refit. 

European Causeway returned to Larne from Falmouth with her dry docking completed on schedule at 0630 on the 23/7/07.  She berthed at Curran Quay alongside sister ship European Highlander which was in discharging traffic at MacKean Quay after her 0415 ex Cairnryan.  The ship stored up at Curran Quay prior to shifting to MacKean Quay once European Highlander had sailed at 0730 back to Cairnryan to free Curran for the inbound European Mariner.

The return of European Causeway to service brought to an end European Mariner's two week stint providing relief sailings on the Cairnryan route.  The Troon freighter had provided an extra round sailing on the Cairnryan service Tuesday to Friday, stepping up to two on Saturdays and Sundays.  She did however miss two scheduled trips during her relief spell due to engine problems: The first one on the 18/7/07 when the 0930 to Cairnryan and 1330 return was missed.  Her second cancelled round trip was the 1200 ex Larne and 1600 return on the 22/7/07, this was scheduled to be her last relief trip to Cairnryan covering the European Causeway but the engine problems meant this last trip subsequently became the 0730 ex Cairnryan on the 22/7/07.

Stena Seafarer to Dry Dock

21st July 2007

Fleetwood stalwart Stena Seafarer stood down from service on the 21/7/07 for approximately 3 weeks to undergo overhaul at Birkenhead based North Western Ship Repair.  

Stena Seafarer completed service with the 1600 sailing from Larne on the 20/7/07.  This service arrived in Fleetwood at 0100 on the morning of the 21st and once discharged Stena Seafarer left for the River Mersey at around 0300.  She entered the Liverpool dock system via Langton Lock at around 1100 and was laid up in Langton Dock to await a free dry dock.

15th July 2007

Ferry services from Larne Harbour were subject to a degree of alteration over the 12th of July holiday period in Northern Ireland.  Cairnryan sailings were cut back with the absence of European Causeway, off service at annual overhaul in Falmouth, while Stena Line's Fleetwood service dropped from a three ship schedule to two ships with the lack of freight traffic over the holidays.

Cairnryan Service:

In the absence of European Causeway Larne - Cairnryan sailings operated to a temporary dry dock schedule which is reproduced in detail below in the story dated 8th July 2007.  All sailings operated as per that timetable.

Troon Service:

P&O's fast craft service to Troon as well as the European Mariner's freight service to Troon operated as normal over the July holiday period with no break in service.

Fleetwood Service:

Stena Line's Larne to Fleetwood service dropped to a two ship schedule using Stena Pioneer and Stena Leader for four days from the 12/7/07.  After discharging in Larne at the conclusion of her 0300 ex Fleetwood on the 12/7/07 Stena Seafarer was withdrawn from service and left for Belfast at 1445 to lay up at Stena Line's lay by berth at Albert Quay.  She returned to Larne on the 15/7/07 and re-entered Fleetwood service with the 1600 from Larne, which got away slightly early at 1545.

Many thanks to Marc Gilbert and Alan Geddes keeping the pictures rolling while your webmaster was away on holiday.

8th July 2007

European Causeway stood down after two years hard labour on the Cairnryan service for her bi-annual refit on the 8/7/07.  The ship finished service with her 0730 sailing from Cairnryan on the 8th.  After discharge in Larne at 0915 on MacKean Quay the ship carried out a planned MES drill alongside [pictures here] prior to loading up supplies for dry dock which included a flat trailer of new propeller blades.  She departed Larne for dry dock in Falmouth at 1905 and was clocked on AIS at midnight that night sailing through Dublin's ferry alley at a shade over 24 knots, showing she can still stretch her legs approaching her seventh birthday this August and with two years of accumulated green gunk clinging to her waterline.

In the meantime, in the absence of European Causeway from the Cairnryan route sister ship European Highlander stepped it up a gear by operating an extra trip per day running an 8 trip daily schedule most days backed up by a single round trip by Express and freight only sailings by European Mariner, operated in addition to her usual daily freight sailing to Troon.  To facilitate an afternoon trip to Cairnryan on Sundays European Mariner's own 1900 to Troon on Sundays was retimed to 2100 to allow sufficient time to turn her round after her 1600 service from Cairnryan, scheduled to arrive in Larne at 1830.

The full dry dock timetable is reproduced below:

1st April 2007

Larne's resident fast craft Express began to feel the strain of summer traffic beginning with the weekend of the 30th June to 1st July when the heavy tourist traffic started with the beginning of the Northern Ireland school holidays.

Late running was a feature of her schedule over the next several days with the craft getting bumper loads which extended turnaround times, particularly at Troon and Cairnryan.  This was further compounded with the withdrawal of European Causeway from the Cairnryan service for her two week refit from the 8th July resulting in more traffic being diverted via the fast craft service.  

The large loadings weren't always to blame for her delays however as the craft did turn back to Larne in an emergency to put ashore a passenger who had suddenly taken sick just shortly after the ship cast off from Larne with her 1730 to Troon on the 3/7/07.  The dreaded engine problems also flared up on the 20/7/07 when a water pump failed.  The craft ran all day on 3 engines, accumulating a delay of 3 and a half hours on her usual timings, however she returned to full power the following morning after the pump was replaced overnight.