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Displaying items by tag: Open 2023

The Isle of Man Minister for Infrastructure doesn't think the ferry terminal project will cost more than already requested.

The minister doesn't believe work to the Liverpool Ferry Terminal project will cost more than has already been requested by his predecessor.

The project is expected to cost more than double what was initially requested of Tynwald.

Chris Thomas insists the June 2023 deadline is still realistic and says whilst not everything was straight forward with this project - he believes it's not right to penalise other off-Island projects in future.

ManxRadio reports including a link to the podcast with the Minister spreaking on the terminal that is to serve the route to Douglas Harbour.

Published in Ferry

Construction on the brand new Isle of Man ferry terminal in Liverpool is continuing to press ahead with new images showing the latest progress achieved on the project.

Plans for the new terminal were approved by Liverpool City Council ’s planning committee in April 2019. The project, which would see the Isle of Man Steam Packet company continuing to operate ferries from the city, is expected to be completed by June 2023.

Work initially began in November 2019 and was expected to have been completed by August 2021, but delays have seen the completion date moved back.

Once open, the Manx Government will have invested over £70m into the project, having initially estimated it could cost in the region of £38m.

The Manx Government told the ECHO last month that the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the main causes for the delays - with the impacts on the construction industry affecting the development. However significant progress is now being made on the terminal structure.

LiverpoolEcho has more on the new Irish Sea ferry terminal that is to serve the Merseyside-Manx link.

 

 

Published in Ferry

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).