Our Dublin-Liverpool dedicated freight service has been operational since 15th February 2024 with Stena Horizon serving customers temporarily, whilst we have searched for a longer-term solution.
Bore Song is now scheduled to undergo modifications and is expected to enter service in mid-April. With capacity for almost 3,000 lane metres of freight, the ship will provide significantly more space and is well suited for this unaccompanied freight route. Once Bore Song is operational, we will be able to restore normal capacity and operations on our Rosslare-Fishguard and Rosslare- Cherbourg routes.
With the future of the route front of mind, we are also investing further in our port operations at Birkenhead to better serve freight customers. We recently broke ground on a project to significantly increase parking for freight vehicles with plans for 200 additional bays. This follows the announcement last year that we had signed an agreement with Peel Ports to operate at the terminal in Birkenhead until the year 2100.
Since the announcement of our plans to launch our Dublin-Liverpool service in December, we have been searching for a long-term freight only ship solution, and we’re delighted to have secured the Bore Song to serve on the route until at least the end of the year.
The extra capacity offered by Bore Song will be welcomed by the market. The service has had a strong start and we anticipate further growth in the coming months. Coupled with the expansion of our port operations in Birkenhead and our long-term agreement with Peel Ports, we’re investing significantly in the future of our seventh service across the Irish Sea.