Ferry services to and from Holyhead Port are back up and running this morning. The Welsh port has been out of action since damage was caused to terminals during Storm Darragh.
After more than six weeks of delays and disruption, the WB Yeats Irish Ferries ship arrived in Dublin Port from Holyhead this morning.
However, Ger Hyland, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, who was in Holyhead last night and this morning said it wasn't a promising start.
He said the second ferry going into the port from Dublin in the early hours of this morning was delayed by over three hours due to an electrical fault at the port.
At the Welsh port, terminals 3 and 5 were badly damaged by high winds during Storm Darragh in early December with the latter terminal back operating on a temporary basis.
According to IRHA's Hyland: "The port should have been ready, the amount of freight waiting on the Welsh side was absolutely huge and if this berth goes down again it will be a huge disaster for our sector, for passengers and more especially for Ireland’s exports and imports so hopefully this will improve.
"We welcome the reopening but there is room for improvement still and we urgently need a timeline to know when the second berth will be reopened, this is still not forthcoming.
"We are aware that the Irish, Welsh and English Governments are due to meet to discuss the ongoing situation and challenges and as one of the main stakeholders the IRHA need to be a part of that meeting especially as we are responsible for the movement of 98 per cent of all palleted goods into and out of the country."
It's expected the reopening will allievate some of the pressure on hauliers on both sides of the Irish Sea who have been trying to work around the closure during one of the busiest times of the year for transport.
The Irish Ferries website is warning passengers their sailings are leaving earlier than normally scheduled and will do so for the next few days.
Meanwhile Stena Line is due to operate as normal with four ships travelling from Dublin to Holyhead throughout the day.
The reopening has been welcomed by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA), as it plays a crucial role in the Irish export and import industry, facilitating the smooth transit of goods and services.
Simon McKeever, CEO of the IEA, said: “The Port is a critical infrastructure not only for the Irish export community, but also for Wales and the UK. As we have seen over the last number of weeks, any disruption can significantly impact the movement of goods into and out of Ireland to the UK and further afield.
"It is now vital that the port authorities do everything possible to expedite the reopening of the second docking berth. While the current arrangement is welcome, it could easily be derailed by weather or other external factors. We will continue to engage with government and stakeholders on both sides of the Irish sea until both berths are fully operational.”
