MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales: I
have received an update from Stenaline that the Port of Holyhead
will be closed today, 09 December, sometime between the hours of
06:00 – 15:00 (this window may change subject to weather
forecasts) due to expected strong winds from Storm Bram.
I understand that the closure is not related to the incident that
took place at Holyhead Port on Friday, during which one of the
berths at the port was hit by a vessel. Stena are undertaking an
engineering assessment of the impacted berth and will issue an
official press release on this matter shortly. We expect it will
be around the end of the week before we get full clarity on the
condition of the berth, however so far, the berth closure has had
no impact on port operations.
The Irish Sea taskforce, that was set up following the closure of
the Port in December last year, has been notified of both
Friday's incident and the weather forecasts predicted for the
next few days.
Given the potential for the high winds across all of our Irish
Sea ports, we expect all ferry companies to contact their
customers in advance, and we encourage all passengers to check
with their ferry operator before setting off.
I realise that this will cause disruption for people who are
planning to travel to and from Ireland, but the impacts are
expected to be short-lived and for all services to resume as
normal once the storm has passed.
My officials will continue to keep in regular contact with
Holyhead port, Stena and Irish Ferries, the Isle of Anglesey
County Council and the Irish Government during the period of bad
weather and I have re-iterated the importance of sharing timely
and accurate information with all stakeholders.
