Thread: More musical ferries on the Irish Sea today as we manage distorted freight demand. Embla will stand down from her emergency role in the South & move back North to belatedly to start her maiden voyage on her intended route from Belfast to Birkenhead, tonight at 23:00.

Meanwhile the Horizon will move back to its usual route for a week on Rosslare - Cherbourg. However, Embla has worked well on that route and we need the bigger capacity to cater for demand there. So after Estrid returns from France next weekend, it will move South ...

and cover that route. Meanwhile Horizon will cover Holyhead - Dublin and if there is continued demand for the weekly service to Cherbourg then it will cover that. Meanwhile on Monday the Hibernia will be back on Belfast - Heysham. The Panorama will then move to support ...

the Belfast - Birkenhead. Then the plan is the week after next Edda will be back & we'll have our 3 new bigger E-Flexers in operation together for the first time ever. Embla & Edda boosting capacity from to & from Belfast. While Estrid will be adding weight to & from Rosslare...

It is difficult to go into detail on Twitter about the huge logistical and operational issues we have to manage in moving vessels. But is part of a more flexible approach to suppling ferry capacity on the Irish Sea. It is is something we can do thanks to the breadth and width ...

... of our fleet and services. However, it is important to note that should demand increase on the routes back to Wales then we will immediately move capacity back to cover it. We remain fully committed to Welsh ports and the routes that service them. We are confident that...

..demand will return. The British land bridge will always be the quickest and most cost-effective route to the Continent for Irish hauliers. And we know from speaking to hauliers from the Republic that their trucks are flying through Dover under EU to EU transit rules. ....

...The situation at the moment is somewhat clouded by lower demand due to the lockdown and stockpiling before the end of December. However, despite freight levels being down 50% year-on-year at Holyhead, the port is still processing about twice the freight levels of Cherbourg. ..

Both Holyhead and Fishguard will remain vital routes for both freight and people between Ireland and Britain. Thank you to all our teams who have assisted us in being able to cater for the changed demand that we are seeing at this time on the Irish Sea. Fair winds, Stena Line.