Budget airlines squeeze ferries

Competition from budget airlines is putting increasing pressure on ferry services between Northern Ireland and Britain, according to the latest figures. The annual data produced by Ferrystat at the Information Research Network for 2000 show that the number of passengers using ferry services to the UK fell to 2.7 million last year, 4 per cent down on 1999. Continuing disturbances at Drumcree and the pound-sterling exchange rate are among the factors cited for the decline. This was most noticeable on the P&O services between Larne and Cairnryan. Services from Belfast to the ports of Troon, Stranraer, Heysham and Liverpool carried 2,097,000 passengers in 2000, compared to 2,074,000 in 1999. At Larne, numbers fell from 727,000 in 1999 to 646,000 last year.

The Port of Belfast's operations and development manager, Mr Ian Watson, said the downturn was due in part to increased competition from air travel because of a reduction in air fares.

"We also suffered the adverse effect of a period of civil unrest during the peak summer period while the value of the Irish punt encouraged people to take holidays in the Republic rather than crossing to Britain," said Mr Watson. A spokesman for Larne Harbour said July's civil unrest was the main reason for the decline. He said: "Drumcree had the biggest impact on tourism."

The ferry companies' decision to trim promotional fares contributed. Mr Watson said bargain fares had previously created an artificially high level of journeys.

The Port of Belfast is still the busiest port in Ireland, handling almost 40 per cent more ferry passengers than Dublin last year.

Rising world oil prices have pushed up fuel costs, but long-term confidence in the future of the ferry services remains high. A new £35 million sterling (€55 million) fast, conventional ferry will join P&O's Larne-Cairnryan route in 2002. The ship has been ordered from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan. It will be a sister vessel to the European Causeway, introduced to the route last year. It will make the crossing in 105 minutes and match the European Causeway's capacity of more than 400 passengers, 375 cars and/or 107 commercial vehicles.

Mr Graeme Dunlop, chairman of P&O Ferries, described Larne-Cairnryan as a key Irish Sea route for P&O. It has invested £50 million in it in the past 18 months.

"We operate here in a freely competitive market where there are no bankrupt tunnels sponsored by governments and no state-supported ferry companies whose losses are underwritten by taxpayers. It is therefore all the more reasonable to ask that our investment in ships, fast craft and terminals should be supported by government investment in the necessary infrastructure," he said. Meanwhile, the European Commission has cleared the way for a government subsidy which would allow the reinstatement of a ferry service from Ballycastle to Campbelltown on the Mull of Kintyre. In the Port of Belfast, the Harbour Commissioners are spending £7 million upgrading facilities.

The Port of Belfast's future is being debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly by the Regional Development Committee. Privatisation has all but been ruled out.