Holidaymakers forced to take slow boat

silverharp

Article from the london times online


Thousands of families will have to take the slow boat on holiday this summer as rising fuel prices force ferry companies to withdraw high speed vessels.

Many of the ferries, which travel at more than 40 mph, were designed in the 1980s and 90s when oil was a quarter of its current price. They use more than twice as much fuel as a conventional ferry but travel twice as fast.

Ferry companies are upgrading their slower boats with better restaurants, shops and entertainment in an attempt to persuade passengers to view the crossing as part of the holiday, rather than an inconvenience to be endured for the shortest possible time. The vessel which is most vulnerable to the high oil price is the Stena HSS, an aluminium catamaran the size of a football pitch which revolutionised ferry travel when she was introduced in 1995.

The HSS, which carries 1,500 passengers and 360 cars, halved the sailing time on routes between Ireland and Britain and across the North Sea between Harwich and the Hook of Holland.

But Stena has withdrawn its HSS Discovery from the North Sea and reduced the number of sailings by her two sister ships on the Irish Sea. The Swedish company has also reduced the period in which it uses a fast craft on the Fishguard to Rosslare route from eight months to less than five.

Gunnar Blomdahl, Stena’s chief executive, told The Times that Stena would have to consider withdrawing all its HSSs if, as some forecasters were predicting, the oil price rose from the recent level of $70 (£35) a barrel to $100 a barrel.

The cost of fuel for a crossing is eight times higher for an HSS than for a conventional ferry. The HSS uses gas oil, which is similar to kerosene used in jet aircraft and four times the price of standard marine fuel. It consumes 90,000 litres of gas oil on a 220-mile round trip on the North Sea, compared with the 40,000 litres of marine fuel used by a conventional ferry.

The crossing, which took three hours and 40 minutes by HSS, will now take six hours and 30 minutes. The ferries replacing the HSS will travel at only 25mph but have been lengthened to add more cabins and create room for restaurants and shops.

The HSS Discovery is being stored, awaiting a buyer, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Mr Blomdahl admitted that she might never carry passengers again and be scrapped, despite having at least 15 years of working life left.

He said: “The HSS was designed on the assumption that oil would remain around $20 a barrel. If oil was $100 a barrel it would be a threat to all fast craft and probably would threaten [using the HSS] on the Irish Sea. It would be a test of whether passengers were prepared to pay extra for going fast.” He said that about ten high-speed ferries were up for sale in Europe after being removed from various routes.

Bill Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, said: “The HSS is the Concorde of the shipping industry – futuristic but not the success that was hoped. The problems are the high cost of fuel and the costly shore infrastructure it needs.

“Ferry companies are now trying to make the time spent on board conventional ferries more rewarding rather than something to endure. Travelling more slowly gives you more time to enjoy the crossing.”

Even on slower ferries, companies are trying to conserve fuel by installing equipment that runs the engine at the slowest speed possible.

Sea change

HSS Discovery Built: 1997 Gross tonnage: 19,638 Length 124m Breadth: 40m Vehicles: 360 cars Passengers: 1,500 Speed: 46mph

Stena Britannica Built: 2003 Gross tonnage: 45,000 Length 240m Breadth: 29.3m Vehicles: 170 cars and 180 lorries Passengers: 900 Speed: 25mph

Alun

Bugger! "Time to enjoy the crossing" eh? Whenever I take the ferry, the only thing I'm after is somewhere quiet to sit away from the chattering hordes and the greasy smell of all-day Irish/English breakfasts, and for the ordeal to take as little time as possible. I don't want tacky shops, burger bars, expensive drinks, slot machines or cinemas, just a comfortable seat. To me, it's a necessary evil of living on an island, and something I want to take not a minute longer than absolurely necessary.

A Dub in Glasgo

Good strategic thinking behind the introduction of the high speed ferries. Doh! As if they did not know oil will get scarce in the future!

I would want to spend as little time as possible on board a ferry. I have done the Glasgow - Dublin drive (via Stranraer, Troon or Holyhead) many times now and it would make me think twice. If only car hire in Dublin was not so bloody expensive!

silverharp

Alun wrote:

Bugger! "Time to enjoy the crossing" eh? Whenever I take the ferry, the only thing I'm after is somewhere quiet to sit away from the chattering hordes and the greasy smell of all-day Irish/English breakfasts, and for the ordeal to take as little time as possible. I don't want tacky shops, burger bars, expensive drinks, slot machines or cinemas, just a comfortable seat. To me, it's a necessary evil of living on an island, and something I want to take not a minute longer than absolurely necessary.

I'd agree, rip everything out and have those full reclining seats like 1st class airplanes. so at least you can get a decent kip

jjbrien

silverharp wrote:

I'd agree, rip everything out and have those full reclining seats like 1st class airplanes. so at least you can get a decent kip

If they did that they would never make any money and would not run a ferry service at all no matter how fast or slow it is. Pity the superseacat to Liverpool when out of business I loved that service.

My parents told me there used to be only wooden benches on the ferrys.

TCollins

There is nothing more miserable than a slow ferry.
Even if it cost 10cents to take the car on it i wouldnt ever do it again.

Did anyone ever get to Holyhead early and have to spend a few hours in the most god forsaken kip on the planet.

jjbrien

TCollins wrote:

There is nothing more miserable than a slow ferry.
Even if it cost 10cents to take the car on it i wouldnt ever do it again.

Did anyone ever get to Holyhead early and have to spend a few hours in the most god forsaken kip on the planet.

I had to do this many a time especially if the HSS or Swift got cancelled. There is nothing in Holyhead to do the town is very dull.

Idbatterim

i cant believe they have that much working life left in them and they are going to be curtailed and maybe even scrapped, unbelievable. There is no way that people would take the ferry if they had to charge the prices necessary to make it viable, out of interest, per passenger on average, what would use more fuel, a standard plane (say boeing 737) or ferry (say 30k ton)? assuming they both travel the same distance?

jjbrien

It looks the the Dutch UK HSS which is now lying in Harland and Wolfe waiting either sale of scappage got damaged. One of the reasons why she was dropped from service

Davidth88

The last few times I have driven back to London I have always taken the Big Irish Ferries Ship Ulysses .
I found the fast ferries were not that reliable in the winter . Wasn't it the HSS that was stuck of the Irish coast for 36hrs because the wind was blowing the wrong way last winter ?

Anyway , you try driving to DL, even with the M50 built it's a nightmare to get in/out of the port, I have been stuck there for 40 mins before now.

However it's a shame if the HSS is scraped because it is an impressive piece of engineering for sure.

I think Ryanair may have also have helped to cause this , the Xmas before last I costed going to London . 400 euro on the Ferry , 200 for 2 on EI to LHR, I was going near LHR so it was a no-brainer.

Alun

Davidth88 wrote:

Anyway , you try driving to DL, even with the M50 built it's a nightmare to get in/out of the port, I have been stuck there for 40 mins before now.

Depends on where you live ... given the choice of driving to Dun Laoghaire or to Dublin Port, I'd choose Dun Laoghaire every time.

As for the cost comparison, it depends a lot on what you're going to be doing at the other end. If you need to hire a car, then the ferry option starts to look a lot more attractive, plus I don't need to worry about being arrested for carrying an oversized bottle of shampoo

testicle

Given that the Swift is more expensive that the Ulysses, and the Swift gets cancelled at the drop of a hat, is it really a money making machine for Irish Ferries, because you don't get a refund of the difference, if you're bumped onto the Ulysses!

Alun

testicle wrote:

... because you don't get a refund of the difference, if you're bumped onto the Ulysses!

We did when it happened recently. A whopping €19 IIRC, plus a discount off our next booking because it took them 4 weeks to actually get around to doing it. Mind you I set the Rottweiler wife onto them .. she's much better than I am at complaining

testicle

Must set the Alsation on them so.