Irish Ferries - What's the Jackanory?

dCorbus

Some help and advice needed, please!

Planning to head to England later in the Summer.
Hoping to bring the target rifle and get some shooting in along the way.
All is going well with the arrangements - Application for Visitors Permit on its way to UK, range and events sorted, accommodation sorted, etc.

But....I understand from what I'm reading on the interweb that Irish Ferries, whilst they will allow firearms on board, will not allow ammunition (of any kind) to be carried. Does anyone know if this is in fact the case?

Not an insurmountable problem, but it does seem a bit odd IMO.

Also, Irish Ferries do not seem to say how or when or what the procedures are for advising them of the intention to transport a rifle....so does anyone have any direct experience of the procedures for travelling with a rifle to the UK with Irish Ferries and for smoothly getting on board an Irish Ferries boat in Dublin port?

If there's already an uptodate thread on this, please point me in the right direction. Searching ain't doing it for me.

Thanks in advance.:)

dC

rrpc

dCorbus wrote: »

Some help and advice needed, please!

Planning to head to England later in the Summer.
Hoping to bring the target rifle and get some shooting in along the way.
All is going well with the arrangements - Application for Visitors Permit on its way to UK, range and events sorted, accommodation sorted, etc.

But....I understand from what I'm reading on the interweb that Irish Ferries, whilst they will allow firearms on board, will not allow ammunition (of any kind) to be carried. Does anyone know if this is in fact the case?

Not an insurmountable problem, but it does seem a bit odd IMO.

Also, Irish Ferries do not seem to say how or when or what the procedures are for advising them of the intention to transport a rifle....so does anyone have any direct experience of the procedures for travelling with a rifle to the UK with Irish Ferries and for smoothly getting on board an Irish Ferries boat in Dublin port?

If there's already an uptodate thread on this, please point me in the right direction. Searching ain't doing it for me.

Thanks in advance.:)

dC

Firstly, yes it's true that they don't allow ammunition. They originally had banned the carriage of firearms but were persuaded to relax that restriction but would not budge on the ammunition ban. This is something like the derogation in the new EU directive where firearms can be carried but ammunition is at the discretion of the Government and the carrier.

The procedure (this from a good while ago) is to report the firearm at booking time, report at check in if they don't bring it up themselves and you are (usually) given priority boarding and the firearm is taken on to the bridge for the duration of the journey.

That's about it, but perhaps someone who's made the trip more recently could fill in any gaps I've left.

dCorbus

Thanks rrpc,

that's what I'd heard, but checking the website and the T&C's say that the firearm should be declared at check-in and kept in the car boot. Which kinda surprises me as I'm sure they'll have a caniption when I drive up to check-in and calmly announce I've a rifle in the boot - or maybe not?

So, if anyone's done the trip recently, let us know, thanks!

dC

jwshooter

iv been to the uk with rifles and shotguns a fair few times .

generally go by stenna . the fast cat will not take ammo of any kind as it has a tin skinned hull and under maritime law they are not allowed to carry explosives.

the slow ferry will carry ammo .some times the guns are left in the jeep some times not ,depends on the boarding officer in charge .

always be early ,i give the company a call the nite before just to remind them and give the officer on the day a chance to inform themselves.

clivej

I wouldn't mind the ammo not going with you as your UK license and Eiropass will have ammo limits on them anyway. And your'll be able to buy ammo in the UK with your UK visitors license.

Hibrion

I know a few lads who recently went across on the ferry and carried ammunition and their firearms; they just left them in the jeep. I'll inquire as to the procedures they had to adhere to.

Scalachi

Guys,

have travelled to UK a couple of times with Stena line, no issue with Firearms, but limit to 1000 rounds of ammo, Firearms and Ammunition must be locked in car (in boot) , and normally you get escorted on to Boat, and they take your keys off you after witnessing you lock the car, same procedure on way back.

From the way they deal with it, it would appear that it is a very common occuurence.

Regards

DB

rrpc

Stena allow ammunition, Irish Ferries don't. It was touch and go that they'd allow firearms after initially announcing that they wouldn't.

There should be a thread here somewhere... found it

elius

When bringing a shotgun back 5yrs ago. I was pulled in for a search etc. The Officer said have you anything to declare "I do a shotgun" the look on the officers face was priceless anyhow he checked my paper work and gave me priority boarding and i was told to bring the gun up to the bridge. I didn't realise i had to give them notification before hand.. Was on the irish ferries ulysses.

intershoot

Stena now allow up to 1000 rnds - dont confuse them with type or calibre!

They had stopped all ammo for a short while, but then relaxed it again a year or so back.

All explosive goods, other than those assigned the classification 1.4S are no longer allowed to be carried by any passenger carrying craft. This was the result of a recent safety audit by the ports authority. Powder of any kind is NOT allowed on a boat.

:cool:

dCorbus

Thanks Lads.:D

It's gonna have to be Irish Ferries I travel with, just in terms of times, etc.
But I'll give them a call tomorrow to see what the procedure is.
Thanks for the advice.
Getting sorted with ammo when I get over there, so that's not a problem now.
Just want to make sure that our boarding and the trip over goes as smoothly as possible.;)

dC

dCorbus

Update:

I phoned the Irish Ferries main office (not their "customer service" or "booking line" as this didn't have an option to connect to the correct office) and explained to them that I had made a booking and would be travelling, in my car (not as a foot-passenger), with a rifle / firearm.

I was then put directly through to the Irish Ferries "Port Controller" (or something like that), who I gave my booking number to, informed him that I would be travelling with a firearm, confirmed that I was not a foot-passenger, and I would not be carrying any ammunition. He made a note of this on their system beside my booking reference.

I now must identify and present myself to the check-in / controllers at the ferry when boarding.

That's the procedure so far. Will keep you'se posted on how the remaining steps go!:D

Hibrion

Hibrion wrote: »

I know a few lads who recently went across on the ferry and carried ammunition and their firearms; they just left them in the jeep. I'll inquire as to the procedures they had to adhere to.

Asked the lads at the weekend. A load of them went on the ferry in two jeeps. They all brought shotguns and they all brought a hundred rounds of ammo with no problems at all. They said they were taken aside into a room where the guns were inspected and that was all.

dCorbus

Thanks Hibrion. Do you know which ferry company and route they travelled? dC

Hibrion

I think it was stena. They had to do a fair bit of driving to get to Scotland so I think they went to one of the Welsh ports.
Hoping to go to Scotland some time in the future for deer stalking myself too.

dCorbus

This is a wee bit of a zombie thread, but as promised, I thought I'd get round to updating it a bit sooner

I phoned the Irish Ferries main office (not their "customer service" or "booking line" as this didn't have an option to connect to the correct office) and explained to them that I had made a booking and would be travelling, in my car (not as a foot-passenger), with a rifle / firearm.

I was then put directly through to the Irish Ferries "Port Controller" (or something like that), who I gave my booking number to, informed him that I would be travelling with a firearm, confirmed that I was not a foot-passenger, and I would not be carrying any ammunition. He made a note of this on their system beside my booking reference.

I now must identify and present myself to the check-in / controllers at the ferry when boarding.

That's the procedure so far. Will keep you'se posted on how the remaining steps go

First off, the trip over and back to the UK went smoothly. No hassle at all. But, by way of information and hopefully helpful advice to shooters heading to the UK by ferry, here's a rundown on my experience:

Step 1.
Applied for and got my UK Visitors Permit (via my shooting contact at the range I was visiting) a week or so before I was to travel. Note: I made sure that (although I was only planning to shoot on particular days) the Visitors Permit was dated to be valid for the duration of my entire travel in the UK, and I included an extra couples of days at the start and end of the trip to take account of any potential travel delays which might extend my stay in the UK. Next time around, I'm going to try to apply for an annual Visitors Permit which will deal with this potential (albeit unlikely) problem and will additionally save me the hassle. time, and expense of applying each and everytime I head over the water to a shoot.

Step 2.
Call the Ferry Company's Main Office (see Above Quote) and ask them to make a note on your booking that you will be travelling with firearms. This avoids catching them on the hop when you drive up and check in at the port.

Step 3.
Pack up all my shooting kit. Rifle with trigger lock (minus bolt) in locked hardcase in car-boot. As I was travelling with Irish Ferries (and no ammo allowed on board), I had a good check of all my kit, bags, pockets, etc. to make 100% sure I was not carrying any loose ammo anywhere and to also make sure that I had no fired brass on me (I was asked about this in Dublin Port when heading over - so can only presume that they, i.e. the Ferry Company or the Port Authorities, consider fired brass in the same way as live ammunition - Not sure about this, but that was the impression I was given at check-in).

Handy Note: Make sure you can easily access the gun-case and don't have to unload your entire contents of your car boot to get at it - You may have to open the case and show the rifle at check-in to prove it is not loaded etc and so the authorities can check your permits against your serial numbers. Not having to unload the boot will also save you some time at either end of the ferry journey.

Step 4.
Make sure you have all your paperwork readily to hand. I put all mine in an envelope which I kept in the glove compartment, so when stopped, I was able to handily produce everything needed / asked for. I also had 2 copies made of all the original documents to give to any officials who required them. As it turned out, the Customs / Border Control officers did not need to retain any documents - but, my offering them copies certainly helped reassure them of my bona fides. No harm in having them handy IMO.

What I brought with me by way of documentation was:
a) UK Visitors Permit
b) Euro Pass
c) Colour Copies of my relevant Irish FAC's (Front & Back)
d) Print-out of Competition / Shoot / Event Details etc, as required.
e) Copy of the original dealers reciept for the rifle (from when I bought it originally) - this was just belt-and-braces to prove that I had bought the rifle in Ireland and to avoid any potential messiness when coming back home (it wasn't needed in the end, but again, handy to have ready if asked)

All these, along with two spare copies, where kept in an envelop with me in the car during the journey (removed when overnighting and kept safely, of course).

Step 5.
When all ready to go, head to ferry port to check-in. The check-in time advised by Irish Ferries is 30mins before sailing - I decided to get there about 1 hour in advance to allow for any issues arising. There's an advantage to this in that it's nice and quiet at the port an hour before sailing and you'll get seen by the Man faster, and also when they ask you to open the boot and uncase the rifle, there'll be less spectators. This inspection will be carried out (in Dublin Port at least) in the car park waiting area!:eek: I had a large and excited audience of German Coach Tourist's sitting alongside my car when I produced my gun - Needlesstosay, they all had a great gawp from their raised vantage point within the coach and every time I walked passed them on the ferry on the way over, I was stared at and commented upon - Da steht der Mann mit dem Waffe! usw.:o

So arriving in good time at Dublin Port, drive straight to the check-in hut as you'd normally do, hand over your booking form, and tell the man in the check-in booth that you will be travelling with a firearm.

You will then be directed to park in a particular location in the normal car-park waiting/holding zone and another official will pop over to you shortly.

He will ask you a couple of questions (re: ammo etc) and ask to check the rifle. You open up your boot, open the rifle case, and show him the rifle. Explain where the bolt is (i.e. removed and in other case) and point out the trigger lock, for good measure. Meanwhile, you hopefully won't have a coach-load of goggle-eyed mittelalter german tourists staring in awe at such a massive "waffe"!:rolleyes:

The Port / Ferry Official should then be happy. You close everything up again. And simply await your embarkation onto the Ferry.

You may be told to advise the Burser on board the ferry too. First off, you will have to find the Burser - the ferry staff not speaking much english (if any) will not have a clue what you want:

Picture the scene:
- Hello, could I speak with the Burser, please?
- Eh? Wot? Pleez?
- The Burser? Where do I find him?
- Ze Purrzer, why to speak with, pleez?
- Ah, em, private matter.
- Wot eez private matter to speak?
- Ah, em, I'm travelling with a firearm...(sotte voce)
- File-man? Wot is file-man pleez?
- You know, firearm?
- Eh?
- Gun?
- Eh?
- Weapon?
- Eh? (Light slightly dawns on ferry employee)
- Em, I have a weapon in my car, you know, bang, bang......
- Ahh, you go speak deck supervisor with cars.
- Ok, rightyo, thanks.

And off I go to find the "deck supervisor", repeat of above conversation, he could care less!

Seriously, I'm not making the above conversation up - Slightly paraphrasing it, but that's pretty much verbatim the conversation I had in the public deck of the ferry in full earshot and view of my fellow passengers. Fun indeed!:o

(Note: Didn't bother with this ridiculous and useless rigmarole on the way back from the UK.)

Step 6.
Arrive at Holyhead. Disembark. Drive off ferry and follow signs for exit from port. Just as you are leaving the port area, there will be a UK Customs & Border Control check-point. As one approaches the UK Border Official, roll down the window and politely inform him that you are travelling with firearms in the car.

They may or may not stop you - But I was advised to tell them before they stop and search. Far less explaining to do that way and you get off on a much better foot.

The Official will direct you over to a covered customs inspection shed and ask you some formality questions about disclosure etc. You then unload the boot, take out the rifle case, place it on an inspection bench, and open the case. The Official will examine your UK Visitors Permit and your EuroPass (they didn't want to see any other documents, but were happy to see them there - and they were most appreciative when I offered them the duplicate copy, which they didn't require). They cross check your UK Visitors Permit with your EuroPass with the Serial Number on your rifle. All matches. A couple of questions about where and what I'll be shooting at, what sort of shoot, competition, etc. All happy and we're back on our merry way.

That's pretty much it.

On the way back, same procedure - Pretty much, except when you get to Dublin there's no obvious sign of any customs or border control presence or even office/shed/portacabin. So I kept driving out of Dublin Port expecting to come to a check-point, a customs shed, or happen upon some official of our Blessed & Sainted Isle to check what I was bringing in from foreign lands across the Seas. But hey, the next time I stopped was at the traffic lights on the Quays!

(Sidebar Rant: So, in the interests of protecting our national security, protecting our borders, prevent smuggling and trafficking, enforcing emigration control, etc. etc., if any of the PTB happen to be reading this - Well done, interesting policy of non-presence in Dublin Port, hope the intell is good, coz you ain't stopping anything with spot checks! Bloody hell, I go to the trouble of getting all my paperwork in order (in fact have more paperwork than is actually required or necessary), get checked and double-checked by the UK Border Control officials, and get to Dublin - squat, nada, nix, nothing.:eek:) )


All-in-all, I hope this summary of my own travel adventure will be of help to other shooters.

jwshooter

i have traveled all over England shooting shotgun and rifles. i have sailed out of the 3 main ports ,Belfast is the best by far .

i never had any problems with paper work ,bar our crowd with a euro pass .most times they did not want to see the firearms at the ports .

i always ring the day before and let them know im traveling with a firearm ,i always enquire who to ask for ,person in charge ,get a name .

there professional people that see firearms most every day ,familiarise your self with what they require off you .

be early .

Bananaman

NASRPC did an article in their newsletter a while back on travel with firearms, whIch included travel via ferry - they had an article in issue 4 and issue 5.

I suggest you submit an article for the next issue to keep people abreast of the latest experience.

Articles are always welcome on anything firearm, club or range related.

B'Man

Watch Ryder

dCorbus wrote: »

This is a wee bit of a zombie thread, but as promised, I thought I'd get round to updating it a bit sooner



First off, the trip over and back to the UK went smoothly. No hassle at all. But, by way of information and hopefully helpful advice to shooters heading to the UK by ferry, here's a rundown on my experience:

Step 1.
Applied for and got my UK Visitors Permit (via my shooting contact at the range I was visiting) a week or so before I was to travel. Note: I made sure that (although I was only planning to shoot on particular days) the Visitors Permit was dated to be valid for the duration of my entire travel in the UK, and I included an extra couples of days at the start and end of the trip to take account of any potential travel delays which might extend my stay in the UK. Next time around, I'm going to try to apply for an annual Visitors Permit which will deal with this potential (albeit unlikely) problem and will additionally save me the hassle. time, and expense of applying each and everytime I head over the water to a shoot.

Step 2.
Call the Ferry Company's Main Office (see Above Quote) and ask them to make a note on your booking that you will be travelling with firearms. This avoids catching them on the hop when you drive up and check in at the port.

Step 3.
Pack up all my shooting kit. Rifle with trigger lock (minus bolt) in locked hardcase in car-boot. As I was travelling with Irish Ferries (and no ammo allowed on board), I had a good check of all my kit, bags, pockets, etc. to make 100% sure I was not carrying any loose ammo anywhere and to also make sure that I had no fired brass on me (I was asked about this in Dublin Port when heading over - so can only presume that they, i.e. the Ferry Company or the Port Authorities, consider fired brass in the same way as live ammunition - Not sure about this, but that was the impression I was given at check-in).

Handy Note: Make sure you can easily access the gun-case and don't have to unload your entire contents of your car boot to get at it - You may have to open the case and show the rifle at check-in to prove it is not loaded etc and so the authorities can check your permits against your serial numbers. Not having to unload the boot will also save you some time at either end of the ferry journey.

Step 4.
Make sure you have all your paperwork readily to hand. I put all mine in an envelope which I kept in the glove compartment, so when stopped, I was able to handily produce everything needed / asked for. I also had 2 copies made of all the original documents to give to any officials who required them. As it turned out, the Customs / Border Control officers did not need to retain any documents - but, my offering them copies certainly helped reassure them of my bona fides. No harm in having them handy IMO.

What I brought with me by way of documentation was:
a) UK Visitors Permit
b) Euro Pass
c) Colour Copies of my relevant Irish FAC's (Front & Back)
d) Print-out of Competition / Shoot / Event Details etc, as required.
e) Copy of the original dealers reciept for the rifle (from when I bought it originally) - this was just belt-and-braces to prove that I had bought the rifle in Ireland and to avoid any potential messiness when coming back home (it wasn't needed in the end, but again, handy to have ready if asked)

All these, along with two spare copies, where kept in an envelop with me in the car during the journey (removed when overnighting and kept safely, of course).

Step 5.
When all ready to go, head to ferry port to check-in. The check-in time advised by Irish Ferries is 30mins before sailing - I decided to get there about 1 hour in advance to allow for any issues arising. There's an advantage to this in that it's nice and quiet at the port an hour before sailing and you'll get seen by the Man faster, and also when they ask you to open the boot and uncase the rifle, there'll be less spectators. This inspection will be carried out (in Dublin Port at least) in the car park waiting area!:eek: I had a large and excited audience of German Coach Tourist's sitting alongside my car when I produced my gun - Needlesstosay, they all had a great gawp from their raised vantage point within the coach and every time I walked passed them on the ferry on the way over, I was stared at and commented upon - Da steht der Mann mit dem Waffe! usw.:o

So arriving in good time at Dublin Port, drive straight to the check-in hut as you'd normally do, hand over your booking form, and tell the man in the check-in booth that you will be travelling with a firearm.

You will then be directed to park in a particular location in the normal car-park waiting/holding zone and another official will pop over to you shortly.

He will ask you a couple of questions (re: ammo etc) and ask to check the rifle. You open up your boot, open the rifle case, and show him the rifle. Explain where the bolt is (i.e. removed and in other case) and point out the trigger lock, for good measure. Meanwhile, you hopefully won't have a coach-load of goggle-eyed mittelalter german tourists staring in awe at such a massive "waffe"!:rolleyes:

The Port / Ferry Official should then be happy. You close everything up again. And simply await your embarkation onto the Ferry.

You may be told to advise the Burser on board the ferry too. First off, you will have to find the Burser - the ferry staff not speaking much english (if any) will not have a clue what you want:

Picture the scene:
- Hello, could I speak with the Burser, please?
- Eh? Wot? Pleez?
- The Burser? Where do I find him?
- Ze Purrzer, why to speak with, pleez?
- Ah, em, private matter.
- Wot eez private matter to speak?
- Ah, em, I'm travelling with a firearm...(sotte voce)
- File-man? Wot is file-man pleez?
- You know, firearm?
- Eh?
- Gun?
- Eh?
- Weapon?
- Eh? (Light slightly dawns on ferry employee)
- Em, I have a weapon in my car, you know, bang, bang......
- Ahh, you go speak deck supervisor with cars.
- Ok, rightyo, thanks.

And off I go to find the "deck supervisor", repeat of above conversation, he could care less!

Seriously, I'm not making the above conversation up - Slightly paraphrasing it, but that's pretty much verbatim the conversation I had in the public deck of the ferry in full earshot and view of my fellow passengers. Fun indeed!:o

(Note: Didn't bother with this ridiculous and useless rigmarole on the way back from the UK.)

Step 6.
Arrive at Holyhead. Disembark. Drive off ferry and follow signs for exit from port. Just as you are leaving the port area, there will be a UK Customs & Border Control check-point. As one approaches the UK Border Official, roll down the window and politely inform him that you are travelling with firearms in the car.

They may or may not stop you - But I was advised to tell them before they stop and search. Far less explaining to do that way and you get off on a much better foot.

The Official will direct you over to a covered customs inspection shed and ask you some formality questions about disclosure etc. You then unload the boot, take out the rifle case, place it on an inspection bench, and open the case. The Official will examine your UK Visitors Permit and your EuroPass (they didn't want to see any other documents, but were happy to see them there - and they were most appreciative when I offered them the duplicate copy, which they didn't require). They cross check your UK Visitors Permit with your EuroPass with the Serial Number on your rifle. All matches. A couple of questions about where and what I'll be shooting at, what sort of shoot, competition, etc. All happy and we're back on our merry way.

That's pretty much it.

On the way back, same procedure - Pretty much, except when you get to Dublin there's no obvious sign of any customs or border control presence or even office/shed/portacabin. So I kept driving out of Dublin Port expecting to come to a check-point, a customs shed, or happen upon some official of our Blessed & Sainted Isle to check what I was bringing in from foreign lands across the Seas. But hey, the next time I stopped was at the traffic lights on the Quays!

(Sidebar Rant: So, in the interests of protecting our national security, protecting our borders, prevent smuggling and trafficking, enforcing emigration control, etc. etc., if any of the PTB happen to be reading this - Well done, interesting policy of non-presence in Dublin Port, hope the intell is good, coz you ain't stopping anything with spot checks! Bloody hell, I go to the trouble of getting all my paperwork in order (in fact have more paperwork than is actually required or necessary), get checked and double-checked by the UK Border Control officials, and get to Dublin - squat, nada, nix, nothing.:eek:) )


All-in-all, I hope this summary of my own travel adventure will be of help to
other shooters.

I did this when I was travelling to Eire, I'd forewarned the ferry people I was taking a shotgun, which I'd cased up ready for travel.
At Liverpool Docks they just got the local cops to showed up to check my EFP and Shot Gun Certificate. One of them said 'You don't have to tell them (ferry outfit) you've got a shotgun if you have the paperwork.' :eek::eek:
I agreed but said that if they searched the car and found a shotgun, they'd refuse me travel. The police seemed to shrug at that, suggesting that it's no big deal if there's a shotgun being transported and you've got the paperwork.

Once on board I handed over the shotgun ammunition to the Purser. Once I'd arrived in Eire I got it back and that was that.

On the return journey to England the purser was bit of a dragon, demanding that I hand over my car keys (having already handed over the shotgun ammo)!!!

fathersymes

For those wanting to get a ferry to Scotland from Belfast, if you are a member of the Countryside Alliance they will act as sponsor which will allow you transport a firearm through the six counties.