The package, worth up to £17m, is being funded by the
UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. It
will be made available to operators so that they can
continue running freight services on five sea routes
between Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
UK Transport Secretary said:
Essential supplies are continuing to flow well, but
operators are facing challenges as fewer people
travelling means less capacity to move goods.
Today’s action will help ensure we have the freight
capacity we need across the UK. This funding will
help ferry operators protect our supply chain and
maintain the flow of critical goods across the Irish
Sea and throughout the Union.
The funding package includes support for the ferry
services running between Cairnryan and Larne and
Cairnryan and Belfast. Welcoming the announcement,
Secretary of State for Scotland ,
said:
We have been clear that the UK Government will do
what is necessary to protect our economy during the
current Coronavirus pandemic. That includes
safeguarding the essential ferry routes between
Scotland and Northern Ireland.
I know just how vital the busy services in and out of
Cairnryan are. It is essential we keep them going for
the economies of both Northern Ireland and the South
West of Scotland.
The UK Government’s Department for Transport has also
announced that thousands of volunteers, vehicles,
aircraft and ships from the transport sector have been
placed on standby in a new “Transport Support Unit” to
assist frontline responders during the crisis across
the whole of the UK.
