Notes from the Larne Ferry Web Archive June 2004

Larne harbour entered the jet age when the brand new fast ferry Jetliner commenced operation between Larne and Cairnryan on the 12th of June.

Only launched in May 1996 and costing £20 million to build, the craft was immediately chartered by P&O to compete with the already established Sea Containers' fast ferry Seacat Scotland and the Stena HSS Stena Voyager which was due to enter service the following month.

Offering a 1 hour sailing time between Larne and Cairnryan the Jetliner offered a crossing time between Northern Ireland and Scotland that undercut her two Belfast based rivals by half an hour. The futuristic craft left her builders yard in Bergen, Norway on the 6th of June and sailed straight to Larne for berthing trials using the former berth and the airport style passenger facilities vacated by Stena Line in November 1995.

Some views of the fast ferry Jetliner in Larne for the first time on the 7th of June 1996

Top Left: Bow view of Jetliner berthed at Chaine Quay in Larne for the first time.

Above: The Chaine Quay ramp meets the Jeliner's bow ramp for the first time.

Left: A view of the stern of the Jetliner at Chaine Quay.

All photos: Joe McKay (click to enlarge)

The Jetliner's first sailing was the 0600 Larne - Cairnryan sailing on the 12th of June and she entered service to a flurry of media activity concerning her introduction. P&O experienced strong bookings for the summer based on the Jetliner's early success, but ground was lost in later months as her reliability got worse. Gearbox and engine problems as well as numerous bad weather delays were to take the shine of her triumphant entry into service.

Pictured in service approaching Larne 15 minutes late with the 1100 service from Cairnryan on the 25th May 1997. Photo: Aubrey Dale

Following hot on the heels of the arrival of the Jetliner was the withdrawal of the Cairnryan conventional ferry Pride of Ailsa. The passenger and car traffic on the Larne - Cairnryan route would be in the future handled by the Jetliner and the other conventional ferry on the service Pride of Rathlin. After covering for the refit of her sister vessel Pride of Rathlin the Pride of Ailsa was retired from service and sold to El Salam Maritime as the Pride of Alsalam 95. Her final sailing was the 1930hrs sailing from Cairnryan on the 15th of June under the command of Captain Eddie Irvine.

To maintain freight capacity on the route the Pride of Ailsa was also replaced by the European Trader. The European Trader had first operated the Cairnryan service on the 28th of February 1996 to cover refits and from the 1st of June 1996 she was back on the service covering the overhaul of the European Endeavour. On the return of the European Endeavour and the Pride of Rathlin to service the European Trader settled down on the old sailing times of the Pride of Ailsa. Between them these three ships were to be the backbone of the Cairnryan service until August 2000.

Larne - Cairnryan conventional ferry fleet June 1996

OUT: Pride of Ailsa (last crossing 15th June) Photo: Gary Andrews	IN: European Trader pictured here leaving Cairnryan. Photo: Gary Andrews

Old Reliable: Pride of Rathlin departing Larne with the 1530 service on 24/4/2000. Photo: Aubrey Dale	Flexible Friend: European Endeavour inbound to Larne. Photo: Steven Brown.

Inbound to Larne with the 0400hrs sailing from Cairnryan on the 3rd of June 1987 the Townsend Thoresen ferry Ionic Ferry hit national news headlines when she ran aground in approaches to Larne harbour.

Shortly after 0600hrs the Ionic Ferry arrived off number 1 buoy at Larne with her usual inbound Cairnryan sailing but was held up outside waiting for the Galloway Princess inbound from Stranraer and the Puma inbound from Fleetwood to dock ahead of her. The weather was good but there was thick fog shrouding the entrance to the harbour.

To save time the Ionic Ferry had made her turn at number 1 buoy and was proceeding into the harbour astern when she drifted outside the channel and ran aground beside the Chaine Memorial Tower at 0620hrs. Despite the best efforts of her master to get her off the sandbank the rapidly falling tide didn't help and the ship ended up stranded on the beach.

At around 0730hrs, after it was clear the vessel wasn't going anywhere until the next high tide, the passengers were given the option of remaining onboard or transferring to shore. 22 came ashore by climbing down a rope ladder into the Islandmagee ferry Mary Ann while 26 others remained aboard along with the 50 crew members.

Ionic Ferry aground at the entrance to Larne harbour with the Donaghadee lifeboat alongside and John McLoughlin's workboat astern of her. Photo: Aubrey Dale

Languishing forlorn on the beach all morning and providing quite a spectacle for local people, the operation to refloat the ship began in earnest at 1400hrs. Local tug Samuel F assisted by two tugs from Belfast managed to haul the Ionic Ferry off her sandy perch back into deeper water at 1600hrs.

The ship was then taken on a short sail to test her steering and engines before she made her approach to her berth, docking successfully this time at Continental Quay to offload her remaining passengers and the stranded vehicles - 20 lorries a dozen cars and 3 minibuses. Divers then went down to examine the hull where they found a few dented hull plates and bent propeller blades but everything was sound enough for her to sail to Liverpool for dry docking and repairs.

Coming less than three months after the Townsend Thoresen ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized with the loss of 193 persons outside Zeebrugge harbour this incident involving another Townsend Thoresen ship came under intense media scrutiny. Fortunately this time their was no loss of life and the ship was never in any serious danger of toppling over or sinking. Two of the newspaper headlines from the time are reproduced below click both to enlarge.


Daily Mail June 4th 1987 (Roy Thornton Collection)	Larne Times June 4th 1987 (LFW Collection)