Take your time aaproach to destruction of North Wales economy
Fri 9:21 am +00:00, 20 Dec 2024Marine investigators looking into Holyhead incident that halted ferry services
Marine Accident Investigation Branch inspectors are ‘making enquiries’
Marine investigators are looking into the Holyhead port incident that has halted ferry services. One of the berths at Terminal 3 – used by Irish Ferries – was damaged in Storm Darragh earlier this month.
This has seen ferry services to Dublin cancelled until at least January 15. A spokesperson at Holyhead Port said that on the weekend Storm Darragh hit, December 6-7, “two separate berthing incidents occurred affecting the Terminal 3 berth used by Irish Ferries – resulting in part of the berth structure collapsing and rendering it unusable”.
A video clip shows the collapse of the ‘dolphin’ platform which it is understood occurred as the Irish Ferries vessel Ulysses was leaving the berth. A dolphin is a structure that is used to guide, berth, or moor ships at a port, dock, or jetty.
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Marine Accident Investigation Branch – a UK Government organisation authorised to investigate all maritime accidents in UK waters – has now released a statement to North Wales Live.
A spokesperson said: “MAIB is aware of an incident which occurred last week at the port of Holyhead.
“Inspectors are in the process of making enquiries to better understand the circumstances which may have contributed to the incident. Next steps will be determined once the evidence has been reviewed.”
Holyhead Port – where Stena Line is the port authority – said: “No injuries were reported, and all relevant authorities were informed of the incident. A thorough assessment into the extent of the damage and repairs required is ongoing.”
Irish Ferries have been asked comment. The closure of the port for ferry services is causing widespread disruption – hitting the transport of goods, post and passengers in the key run-up to Christmas.
In a speech delivered in the House of Commons today, Plaid Cymru MP for Ynys Môn, Llinos Medi, criticised the UK Government for its lack of response in addressing the closure of the Port of Holyhead, following severe damage caused by Storm Darragh.
Ms Medi said that she was “certain” that if the Port of Dover or a London airport were closed for over a month, “there would be a huge effort to get these sites open again and to support the thousands of supply chain jobs affected”. She said that so far, Holyhead had been treated as an “afterthought”.
She said: “I believe that the government should be holding a debate on the UK wide impact of the closure of the port of Holyhead. Although ports in Wales are a matter for the Welsh Government, international trade is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Holyhead’s strategic location is key for the UK economy. Westminster cannot ignore this issue.”
