Last gasp bid to save ferry fails

Red tape and inflexible EU state aid rules have been blamed for the collapse of the Cork-Swansea ferry service which was wound up by order of the High Court yesterday.

“The funds were there to allow us to continue but, despite the best efforts of all involved, state aid rules and red tape choked off the ferry’s chances of sailing again in March 2012,” said Noel Murphy, chairman of the West Cork Tourism Co-operative which owns the service operator, Fastnet Line.

“Our efforts fell at the final hurdle,” Mr Murphy told a press conference on board the MV Julia berthed on Horgan’s Quay in Cork. He said funds pledged by supporters in Ireland and Wales and by local councils in Cork and Kerry were insufficient to reinvigorate the service.

The doubling of fuel costs in the past two years also had serious implications for the service. “It started out costing €9,000 for each leg of the journey between Cork and Swansea and ended up costing €18,500 per leg,” said Mr Murphy.

He promised that all private funds committed in the company’s recent request for support, expected to total €100,000, will be returned. Total investor losses to date are in the region of €6m.

The ending of the ferry service will mean an immediate loss of 78 jobs and expected losses of €30m in direct tourist spending in the Munster region and about €24m in South Wales.

“With no ferry sailings taking place in 2012, a minimum of 25,000 British tourists will not travel to Ireland, which would represent a further 1% reduction in visitor’s numbers from the 2011 figure,” said Mr Murphy. “The remaining 35,000 visitors will perhaps visit Ireland via other means, but will in all probability not reach the Cork and Kerry regions owing to the difficulty in doing so with other crossings. South Wales and Swansea will see tens of thousands less tourists arriving from Ireland and from people in the rest of the UK who passed through Wales as a result of the ferry.”

Earlier, addressing staff and supporters, Mr Murphy said that despite heroic efforts, “we are very disappointed to announce that we could not to save this vital piece of tourism and transport infrastructure”.

Michael O’Kane, acting chief executive of Fastnet Line, said a restructuring plan involving reducing sailings from April to September was commercially viable but negotiations with Enterprise Ireland had fallen through, largely because of the state investment agency’s insistence that it could not breach EU rules. “We were in touch with Enterprise Ireland in the early days but detailed negotiations only happened at the twelfth hour. We were asked to submit figures a week ago. The negotiations were intense and we were expecting a different outcome.”

Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said: “The chamber regrets that sufficient finance could not be secured to ensure the operation of the ferry service from Cork to Swansea. Undoubtedly, the lack of a ferry service between Cork and the UK will have a negative impact for sectors within the region.”

Cork county councillor Alan Coleman, (FF), said the refusal of Enterprise Ireland to support the ferry sank the project. He called on Marine Minister Simon Coveney, TD for Cork South Central, to “pull on the red jersey and deliver for Cork”.

Timeline

* Apr 2009: West Cork Tourism Co-operative, spearheaded by West Cork businesses, is set up following a campaign to reinstate the Cork to Swansea ferry service which had ceased in 2006. It makes remarkable progress, raising €3m to purchase the MV Julia.

* Sept 2009: The ship is acquired and arrives in Cork on Sept 25.

* Dec 2009-Jan 2010: Cork City Council and Cork County Council agree to invest €200,000 each.

* Mar 10, 2010: The ship sails from Swansea to Cork and arrives in Ringaskiddy with 150 passengers on board. The service exceeds all expectations in passenger numbers and freight traffic in its first year of business.

* Mar 2011: As fuel costs soar, difficulties emerge. Cork city and county councils pledge further bonds of €100,000 each to keep the ferry service afloat.

* Aug 2011: Following a doubling of fuel costs, Fastnet Line announces that sailings will be scaled back for the winter season.

* Nov 2011: The ferry service is suspended and an examiner appointed to run the company. Talks begin with Enterprise Ireland and Finance Wales to secure a further €1.2m in essential funding.

* * Jan 2012: Cork city and county councils pledge a further €300,000 in the service.

* Feb 2, 2012: Fastnet Line announces that hopes to revive the service has failed and the service collapses.