Nautical smiles at Belfast Car Ferries
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After six months in Davy Jones's locker, the Belfast-Liverpool ro-ro ferry service is sailing again, but with a new firm at the helm. David Wilcox looks at its prospects
YEAR AGO this week P&O rries pulled up the gang-plank ce and for all on its Belfastferpool ro-ro ferry service. It d been forced to do so for the rvice was losing £1.2m a year. For six months the route was t unserved until Belfast Car rries set sail in May this year th a new service on the route. )wever, as there are already a izen ro-ro services linking the :public and Northern Ireland th the UK there is talk of overpacity. As I write, B + I is in the roes of ending its CorkImbroke service because of lavy losses on the route. Most of the over-capacity is said to be centred on the two, closely competing crossings from Larne in Northern Ireland to the neighbouring towns of Cairnryan and Stranraer in Scotland. The two ferry operators, Townsend Thoresen and Sealink, offer a frequent service and they also have the advantage of a very short crossing — just two hours. But their disadvantage is that Stranraer and Cairnryan are out on a Scottish limb.
It was partly this last point that encouraged Belfast Car Ferries {BCF) to take over the Belfast Liverpool route, despite Larne being only 30 miles from Belfast and therefore in many respects a close competitor.
The shareholders of Belfast Car Ferries are Oceanbank Developments (a joint venture between Irish Shipping and Allied Irish Banks) and Northern Ireland and UK shipping and financial institutions.
The service operated by the company runs to a simple schedule.
The ferry leaves Donegal! Quay, Belfast, at lOpm every night of the week, arriving at Langton Dock on the border of Liverpool and Bootle at 7am the next day. It departs from Liverpool again at 1 1am, berthing at Belfast at 7.30pm.
I asked BCF's freight manager Alan Peacock why this venture should work when P&O has pulled out because of the losses incurred. Alan says that BCF has faith in the route: "Unless you are going to Scotland BelfastLiverpool has go to be a real alternative to LarneStranraer/Cairnryan." BCF's service is different from the previous service on the route in that it places more emphasis on ro-ro freight traffic. Alan Peacock estimates that about 35 per cent of the total revenue comes from ro-ro freight, worth about f21/2m a year in turnover to BCF. He believes it was partly the inability of P&O to cater for the majority of ro-ro freight because of unsuitable ferries that contributed to P&O's losses on the route.
Because of the simple, nonstop schedule BCF can operate the service with one ferry, the Saint Co/urn 1. Built in 1973 this ship was previously owned by Irish Continental Line (also part of Oceanbank) and operated on ICL's Rosslare-Le Havre route under the name of St Patrick.
In addition to space for 1,040 passengers, 547 berths and 210 cars it also has space for 25x15m freight outfits. Fridge units can be plugged in although their motors are not permitted to run. Separate containers are not carried; BCF does not operate slave trailers but will handle unaccompanied trailers.
For the crossing in the Belfast to Liverpool direction the ferry will invariably be full and the freight space fully occupied (mainly with accompanied vehicles); pre-booking is necessary. Alan Peacock said that the service has inevitably abstracted traffic from the Larne routes but there has been no wholesale change of allegiance. "It is more a case of one or two loads from many customers. And we are not having a price war."
But for the sailing in the opposite direction, ie Liverpool to Belfast, the ferry is never at its capacity and there are usually only 10 or so freight vehicles. _ The reason for this difference in loadings in opposite directions is the time of sailing.
Belfast-Liverpool is a nine hour night crossing which appeals to the haulier because the long crossing time is not wasted the driver gets his legal daily rest. But the-Liverpool-Belfast leg is a day crossing and regarded by most hauliers as a waste of valuable.. driving time.
The obvious answer is to lay the ship over so that it sails at night in both directions. Alan Peacock said this will not work; P&O did it and the ship spent 13 hours a day in port, which Alan said is just not viable.
BCF is getting round the problem by making up the shortfall in traffic on the Lverpool-Belfast leg by carrying new cars from the UK into Northern Ireland. This "trade car" traffic is sizeable Alan estimates that there are 40-50,000 new cars brought into N. Ireland each year and BCF aims to win 50 per cent of this business.
Each arrival at Belfast brings up to 80 new cars which are driven off the Saint Coium land parked in the compound at Donegall Quay to be picked up by car transporters.
Most of the UK-bound freight vehicles start arriving at Donegal! Quay around 6pm. They are checked off the ship's manifest and the drivers given a little book of tickets which entitles him to his passage, a berth in a two-berth cabin, evening meal and breakfast; this is included in the freight rate.
Alan Peacock told me that BCF is working hard at attracting freight business and is doing this partly by looking after the driver particularly well. The freight driver is not segregated from other passengers and pushed into a corner of the cafeteria. Far from it. The two meal tickets entitle the driver to eat in the plush restaurant on the ferry which serves excellent food on a buffet system so that they can have as much as they like. The drivers I spoke to had no complaints.
The Saint Co/urn /also has two bars, a cinema and a disco. All in all, a very civilised way to cross the Irish Sea.
-• That is fine for the driver but is
it an economic proposition for the haulier when compared with the other crossings from Northern Ireland? Since Larne is so close to Belfast it makes little idifference on that side of the Water.
But on the mainland much will depend on where the 'haulier is running to/from. Stranraer/Cairnryan is about 230 ,miles from Liverpool and so a .haulier could save up to 460 miles on a round trip if he is serving the Liverpool area or anywhere South, Conversely, Stranraer/Cairnryan has the advantage for Scotland and the Borders.
On a purely financial basis it is just as difficult to assess, partly because of ferry operators' reluctance to talk actual "discount" pri.ces paid. Typically, a 15m outfit will pay £60-£70 more for a single trip on the Belfast-Liverpool route than on the LarneStranraer/Caimryan crossings.
Alan Peacock maintains that Belfast Car Ferries does not practise discounting and that 90 per cent of the vehicles on the ferry will be paying the same rate only the really regular customers get a slightly more favourable rate.
For hauliers operating between Northern Ireland and the Continent and using the UK landbridge route rather than a direct sailing to the Continent the Larne routes have a bonus in that additional discounts are available if the same ferry operator is chosen for the English Channel crossing. To counter this, Belfast Car Ferries is currently negotiating with an English Channel ferry operator to arrange a similar scheme "but it won't be the Irish Sea crossing that is discounted" si Alan Peacock.
He admitted that Belfast C
—Ferries' freight rate is not qu as low as Pandoro's on t Larne-Fleetwood route b suggested that Liverpool is slightly more attracti, destination than Fleetwoc which is 50 miles further Nor "I don't really see us as
_competition with Pandoro" sa --Alan. "They carry four times much freight as us. But much _ it is their own P&O vehicles a they are in the door to dc business whereas we are purl quay to quay."
Because there is no nic sailing from Liverpool to,Belf!
the BCF service is really or popular with hauliers in t reverse direction. It is this gap the market that a compa called Seabridge Marine proposing to fill. An Oban-bas
-icompany, it plans to start service from Heysham to Bet and it will be a night sailing that direction.
Seabridge Marine told CM t1-. the ship it will charter to opera -ithe service will have space 30-35x15m outfits and will s once a day in each direction days a week (no service Sundays).
Seabridge Marine envisage! freight rate just below that Belfast Car Ferries "but or because Heysham is sligh. nearer Belfast than Liverpool we don't intend getting involvi in a price war." The company hoping to get the service und way by Christmas.
Alan Peacock sees the logic Seabridge Marine's idea of ru fling a night service to Belle but is concerned that if the ne service does materialise it 41 lead to a net oversupply on ti route. 'There is room for one si vice out of Belfast to Engler, not two. If we get two, there's strong possibility that both v% fail."
As it stands after the first F. months of operation Belfast C Ferries is on target to break evi at the end of the financial yei which considering the start-i costs and P&O's losses on tl route is a good performance.
After only six months I operation, already full on ti Belfast-Liverpool leg and growing number of trade cars the reverse direction, the servii appears to have a good futur Alan Peacock is already talkir of the possibility of a bigg ferry, in preference to mo sailings and another ship. "II better to sail full every time ar spend as little time as possible port" he explained. This recit certainly seems to have revive the Liverpool-Belfast route.