Bank to sell ferry to Cork-Swansea group

A FINNISH bank has agreed to sell a ferry to an Irish consortium which hopes to restart the Cork-Swansea route by the end of next month.

The bank signed a memorandum of agreement yesterday to sell the 1,800-berth Julia to a consortium started by West Cork Tourism.

Around 300 consortium shareholders will meet in Skibbereen next Tuesday night to sign off on the deal.

It is understood that the Julia, which can hold 400 cars and 40 freight units, cost in the region of €8 million.

The Irish consortium raised €3m and the Finnish bank has agreed to provide a loan for the shortfall.

West Cork Tourism chairman Conor Buckley said he expected consortium members to “wholeheartedly ratify” the sale agreement next Tuesday.

“We started raising money on February 12 last and we’ve been in talks with the Finnish bank for the past three weeks. This is a huge milestone for us. There is a lot of excitement in our group,” Mr Buckley said.

He said many of the original crew of the Julia had already agreed to man the ship on the Cork-Swansea route.

“We will also be employing Irish and British crew members. The ship will have a crew of up to 100 during peak-time operations,” Mr Buckley said.

The 28-year-old vessel, which was recently refitted, will have to undergo some minor alterations to comply with Irish maritime law.

The new company will be called the Fastnet Line, instead of the B&I line, which had originally been proposed.

“We are currently preparing the necessary working capital. We are going to be launching the service in a difficult economic environment, but there is huge goodwill both here and in Britain for it,” Mr Buckley said.

The Port of Cork and British Associated Ports — which administers Swansea port — have both offered the new company start-up incentives.

Swansea-Cork Ferries closed down its operations three years ago when it was unable to obtain a replacement ship after selling the MV Superferry.