By
Rebecca Gibson |
Ferry operator Stena Line marked the fifth anniversary of its Belfast – Cairnryan route between Northern Ireland and Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland on 21 November.
The service opened in 2011 as part of an £80 million investment by Stena Line, which included the construction of Loch Ryan Port at Cairnryan in Scotland and the introduction of two Superfast ships.
Since then, Stena Line’s ferries have made 20,450 crossings, carrying a total of five million passengers and 1.3 million cars and coaches. Over the past five years, the line has experienced an 18% increase in passenger volumes and a 19% growth in car traffic.
“Five years ago, we committed a significant investment to enhance ferry services between Northern Ireland and Scotland and I’m delighted to say that our support and vision for this route have been rewarded by year on year increases in our passenger, car and freight volumes,” said Paul Grant, Stena Line’s trade director for Irish Sea North. “With innovations such as Stena Plus and Pure Nordic Spa providing the only onboard sauna, Jacuzzi and beauty treatment combination on the Irish Sea, we have taken service levels to a new high on the Irish Sea over the last five years and we will continue to enhance our customer experience in 2017 with our forthcoming comprehensive fleet refit programme.”
Each day, Stena Line operates 12 daily sailings between Belfast and Cairnryan, as well as 10 sailings daily between Belfast, Liverpool and Heysham. Together with the company’s Dublin to Holyhead and Rosslare to Fishguard routes, it now offers customers a total of 222 weekly sailings across its Irish Sea network. Last year, the company carried more than 2.5 million passengers on its Irish Sea routes between Ireland and Britain, more than its rival ferry operators combined.