A Stena Line ferry carrying 1,300 passengers from the Welsh port of Fishguard to Rosslare finally docked at Dublin Port yesterday after high winds made docking at the Co Wexford port impossible.
The ferry sustained "slight damage" to its stern during attempts to dock at Rosslare on Sunday night. A scheduled three-hour journey lasted almost 20 hours.
The ferry, the Koningin Beatrix, collided with the outer edge of the breakwater at Rosslare Europort during attempts to dock at about 8.30 on Sunday night. No further attempt to dock was made until the early hours of yesterday morning, when continued bad weather forced the ferry to sail to Dublin Port, where the 1,300 passengers were discharged.
The damage to the ferry's stern was visible yesterday morning, with some of the rubble from the collision clinging to the dent.
Hundreds of passengers lined the rear decks. Some of those on board joined in a round of applause and cheers, glad to see the end of their journey at hand.
Passengers arriving in Dublin disembarked with obvious relief 20 hours after their journey began. Eight Welsh trippers, who had only planned on staying a day, said that they had revised their plans and would stay another day.
The group, from Merthyr Tydfil, said that they only saw the damage to the ferry when they got off at Dublin Port.
"Part of the harbour was still on the ship", said Stephen Joyce, one of the group. "We only planned a day trip and it lived up to its name. We spent the day travelling."
A spokesman for Stena Line said there had been no threat to the safety of passengers or crew at any stage. However, the ferry would have to go to dry dock as a result of the collision. He said a marine inspector had conducted a survey and cleared the vessel to sail to dry dock in the UK. Stena Line was looking at a short-term replacement for the ferry.
The spokesman said that the ferry had sustained "slight damage" when it hit the breakwater at Rosslare. He added that "unseasonal weather" had played a major factor in docking difficulties, but the passengers had been made comfortable.
Shortly after 11 a.m. yesterday the Koningin Beatrix manoeuvred its way into the Irish Ferries terminal at Dublin Port.
Passengers had to disembark by coach, as the system at the port was not suitable for discharging foot passengers, according to a harbour police spokesman, who added that passengers on day trips were being directed to another ferry terminal. He estimated that there were about 100 such passengers.
Just after 11.30 a.m. the ramps of the ferry were lowered and those travelling by coach or car drove off. A fleet of CIE coaches was shuttled in to take the foot passengers to Busaras. On arrival at the bus station these passengers were given free tickets to their final destinations.
According to one man, the ferry crossing had become a "cruise from hell".
"It's a fitting end to a miserable bank holiday weekend", said a man who had been waiting to meet his sister and her two children since the previous night.
Mr Andy Jones, from Wexford, said that his wife and their two children had been on the ferry. "I didn't sleep a wink last night when I heard the ferry hit the wall at Rosslare Harbour. I was worried all night. There was nothing on the radio about what was happening. All I could think of was another ferry disaster. I don't even know if they got a cabin for the night. It's a total farce", he said.
Mr Mervyn Lewis, from Kilkenny, said that he had taken the ferry home for the sake of his two young children, Katie (4) and Andrew (7).
"A ship like that one, carrying hundreds of passengers, should have been managed in a far better way. We didn't know what was going on half the time", Mr Lewis said.
"We were fortunate enough to get a cabin, but a lot of people had to sleep on the floor all over the place.
"I thought it would be an adventure for the kids. It was a nightmare. The only good thing was that we got free breakfast on board this morning. I'll never travel by ferry again."