€7.8m ship to service Cork-Swansea route will dock on city’s quays

THE people of Cork will get a chance to see the new ferry which will operate the Swansea route when she docks on the city quays on Friday.

The €7.8 million MV Julia arrived in Swansea yesterday where she was greeted by a number of local dignitaries.

Irish members of the cooperative which purchased the ferry will fly out to Swansea tomorrow where they will hold a fundraising and awareness meeting at which it is hoped to attract even more Welsh investors to get involved with the company which will operate it, the Fastnet Line.

The 10-deck ship — which can carry 1,860 passengers, 440 cars and 30 lorries — will leave Swansea tomorrow night and tie up at Horgan’s Quay at about 10.30am on Friday.

Conor Buckley, chairman of the cooperative which was formed by West Cork Tourism, and other members of the board will travel to Swansea to view the vessel, which has just arrived from Finland.

“The Julia is undergoing berthing trials at Swansea port. When she arrives in Cork she will undergo routine maintenance and will be inspected to comply with Irish maritime regulations,” a cooperative spokeswoman said.

“There is no major work to be done to her, it will just be routine,” she said.

The Fastnet Line is expected to appoint a chief executive imminently. Once the appointment is made the successful candidate’s main priority will be to raise about €2.5m to fund the working capital requirements of the business.

Marketing the new line will also be an important component of that person’s work.

Cork County Council and Fáilte Ireland have agreed to provide €500,000 for the marketing campaign which will kick off shortly.

The arrival of the MV Julia in Cork represents the culmination of a nine-month-long campaign by West Cork Tourism.

The ship has a number of restaurants and bars, a children’s play area, a cinema and more than 300 passenger cabins.

The MV Julia will commence service on the Cork-Swansea route in March 1 next.

The Fastnet Line believes the relaunch of the route will create more than 500 jobs and bring thousands of tourists directly to the region each year.

It was announced in early in 2007 that Swansea-Cork Ferries, which had carried 3.5 million passengers across the Irish Sea since it started in 1987, was canceling all sailings because it couldn’t find a replacement for its ship the MV Superferry.

It is believed that about €150m was lost to the south-west region as a result.