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Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and following advice given by governments in all countries in which Brittany Ferries operate the company have been forced to temporarily suspend passenger services connecting the UK, Ireland, France and Spain.

All passenger sailings between the UK and France, Ireland and France and Ireland-Spain have 'ceased' operating for the time-being. The operator apologise sincerely to all those affected.

As Afloat previously reported, the final 'passenger' ferry service on the Ireland-Spain route involved an inward sailing to Rosslare Europort on Monday in advance of this latest all route network development.

For further information on Covid-19, travel advice updates from Governments consult Brittany Ferries 'Irish' website, click HERE In addition for future reference sailing updates HERE.

As for the final passenger repatriation service leaving Spain for the UK which takes place this weekend is full.

A small number of ships in the fleet will continue to operate with limited crew as a lifeline freight-only service. During this period of uncertainty the operator must and will do all they can to ensure that essential goods continue to flow freely.

In a message from Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries he said that the actions have been taken in the best interests of passengers and colleagues. Our priority, of course, is the safety and well-being of passengers, crew, shore-side staff, suppliers, as well as the communities we serve across four countries.

The CEO added our teams have been working hard to answer calls, but due to the exceptionally high level of affected bookings we now have to close our phone lines and divert all resource to contacting passengers proactively over the coming days. If you have a booking with us over the coming days and haven’t heard from us, please bear with us. For urgent enquiries, you can still contact us via a web form on our website.

For amendments to sailings from mid-April onwards, (again using Irish website HERE) please use the online ‘manage my booking’ facility. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and we hope to return to normal service as soon as we can.

We know that everyone is doing the best they can during this ever-changing and unprecedented situation. And that’s what we are trying to do too.

Published in Brittany Ferries

Every Year Ireland's Search & Rescue Services deliver emergency life saving work on our seas, lakes and rivers.

Ireland's Water Safety Agencies work hard to provide us with the information we need to keep safe, while enjoying all manner of water based activities.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Think Before You Sink - Wear a Lifejacket

Accidents can happen fast on water and there may not be time to reach for a lifejacket in an emergency therefore don't just carry a lifejacket - wear it; if it's not on you, it can't save your life.

Irish Water Safety's Safe Boating Alert:

Check condition of boat and equipment, hull, engine, fuel, tools, torch.

Check the weather forecast for the area.

Check locally concerning dangerous currents and strong tides.

Do not drink alcohol while setting out or during your trip.

Carry an alternative means of propulsion e.g. sails and oars or motor and oars.

Carry a first aid kit on board and distress signals (at least two parachute distress rockets, two red hand flares).

Carry a fire extinguisher, a hand bailer or bucket with lanyard and an anchor with rope attached.

Carry marine radio or some means of communication with shore.

Do not overload the boat - this will make it unstable.

Do not set out unless accompanied by an experienced person.

Leave details of your planned trip with someone ashore - including departure and arrival times, description of boat, names of persons on board, etc.

Wear a Lifejacket at all times.

Keep an eye on the weather - seek shelter in good time.

In Marine Emergencies, call 999 or 112 and ask for Marine Rescue.

Lifejackets Checklist

Ensure Cartridges have not been punctured and are secured firmly.

Ensure all zips, buckles, fasteners and webbing straps are functioning correctly and adjusted to fit the user.

Check that fitted lights are operating correctly.

Ensure that Automatic Inflation devices are fully serviced and in date.

Check that the valve or lifejacket is not leaking.