The sale follows a previous attempt to dispose of the 234-passenger capacity ferries at an auction in Galway last month. Despite bids reaching €950,000, they were withdrawn at the auction which was also hosted by the Cork based auctioneer.

The vessels remain in Rossaveal but they will be transferred onto a cargoship as 'deck-cargo' to make the long delivery journey across the high seas for the new owners. Mauritius is neighboured by the smaller islands of Agalega, Cargados Carajos and Rodrigues which together form the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion some 200km to the southwest.

Sisters Clann na nOileáin and Clann Eagle I moored at Rossaveal. Photo
Jehan Ashmore / ShipSNAPS

With a streamlined aluminium 26m mono-hull design the vessels are capable of 19.7 knots. When the craft were constructed in 2006 they were worth between €5 and €6m. The pair were built in France by the OCEA boatyard at Les Sables d'Olonne, on the Bay of Biscay coastline, for Bád Arann Teo (trading as Aran Direct).

The company which went into receivership, operated on routes between Rossaveal and the Aran Islands (Oileáin Árann) of Inishmore (Inis Mór) Inishmaan (Inis Meáin) and Inisheer (Inis Oírr).

In recent years, Aran Direct had intended to introduce a larger passenger-only catamaran ferry on a new route between Galway and Kilronan, the capital of Inishmore and the largest of the three islands.

The fast-craft catamaran envisaged for the route was the U.S. based, 37m Harbour Lynx (2003/427grt) formerly Angel of Freedom, with a capacity for 300 passengers.To be renamed Aran Princess, the vessel was scheduled to take only an hour's passage time across Galway Bay.

In addition the revived route would have been the first direct 'passenger' carrying link between Galway City to the Aran Islands, since the closure in 1988 by CIE (Córas Iompair Éireann) of the three-hour route operated by the Naomh Éanna (1957/438grt).

Personal Safety & Social Responsibility (PSSR) - May 16th 2011
Advanced Fire Fighting (5 days) – Apr 11th 2011
Personal Survival Techniques (PST) Mar 22nd & Apr 26th 2011
Elementary First Aid May 23rd 2011
Efficient Deck Hand – May 30th 2011
Team Building (on demand)
Water Safety Course (on demand)

In addition listed below are the following OPITO Approved Offshore Courses. 

BOSIET 3days - Mar 9th, Mar 28th 2011
MIST 2 days - Mar 3rd ,Mar 7th, Mar 31st 2011
FOET 1 day - Mar 14th ,Mar 23rd 2011
HUET & EBS - On demand

For more details on these courses contact the NMCI on (021) 497 0600 click HERE and in general information about the maritime college www.nmci.ie In addition there are further details about the oil and gas sector by clicking on this website www.opito.com

The FPV was built by AS Baltic Workboats in Estonia and the 25 knot plus craft has already entered on operational duties as part of the Joint Deployment Plan with the Irish Naval Service to underpin fishery protection arrangements.

Layout of the vessel superstructure consists of the wheelhouse for a crew of three and provisional space for two observers. At the aft end there is a wet laboratory for scientific and data collecting purposes. On the lower deck the vessel can accommodate seven crew members in three twin cabins and a single cabin for the captain. Other facilities are the mess, galley and WC.

An onboard RIB, powered by twin 60hp outboards is located aft in the stern-well. Also located at the stern is a two ton capacity movable hydraulic gantry and a one ton Guerra marine deck crane. To create more deck-space for scientific research operations, the stern-well can be covered over with boards, a similar design feature is found on the Revenue Commissioners two Finish built custom cutters RCC Suirbheir and RCC Faire.

In addition to fishery protection, the craft is designed for seabed mapping, survey equipment technology to inspect inshore mussel resources for the
aquaculture industry and to detect pollutants. The ability to conduct such functions will enable greater assistance and understanding of the marine environment for DARD's science partners at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

The design of the Banrion Uladh is based on Baltic Workboats 24m Baltic 2400 class which has been operating for clients in Estonia, Latvia and Poland. In addition the same class is also to be used as a basis for boats which are under construction for the Swedish Coast Guard.

For further information about this and to download a copy of the Pilotage Byelaws click this link. In addition the port company has a draft copy of the Pilotage Byelaws which is available for collection from:

The Port of Cork Company,                                                                                                                                                                            Custom House, Custom House Street, Cork                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The port can be contacted by Tel: 021 4273125 and for other genaral information on the port logon to www.portofcork.ie

The European Endeavour will enable P&O to offer up to three Ro-Pax style sailings a day on the 7.5 hour route instead of the previous two-plus one Ro-Ro (freight-only operated) service. The 180m vessel is no newcomer on the route as over the last two years the ship has deputised to cover the annual overhauls of the routes' vessels.

The Spanish built vessel directly replaced the Ro-Ro freight ferry Norcape, which made her final sailing on the central corridor route, with the 1979 built vessel berthing at Liverpool's Huskisson Dock in the early hours of Sunday morning. Norcape could take 125 drop trailers but only had 12-passengers cabins (for freight accompanied truck-drivers).

Only last year the Japanese built vessel returned to the Irish Sea route as the Norcape but originally started a career with the B+I Line as their Tipperary on the Dublin –Fleetwood route. The UK port was switched to Liverpool in 1988, in the following year she was sold to North Sea Ferries.

The standing down of the Norcape represents the last vessel of the former B+I Line fleet to have any association with the Irish Sea. In 1991 the Irish state owned shipping company was sold to Irish Continental Group (ICG) which is a parent company of Irish Ferries. At that stage Irish Ferries operated only on the continental routes to France.

To read more about Norcape's final sailing on the Irish Sea route, click here.

This will enable P&O to offer up to three Ro-Pax style sailings a day on the 7.5 hour route instead of the previous two-plus one ro-ro (freight-only operated) service. The Norcape could take 125 drop trailers but only had 12-passenger cabins (for freight accompanied truck-drivers).

Norcape was only re-introduced onto the Irish Sea last year but made her final departure tonight as the vessel headed into a foggy Dublin Bay.

In 1979 the Japanese built vessel was launched as the Puma for P&O but was chartered to B+I Line and renamed Tipperary. During the 1980's the vessel first operated a then new Dublin-Fleetwood route jointly operated with P&O, alongside Tipperary's Ro-Ro sister, Ibex. The P&O brand name Pandoro cleverly stood for P and O Ro, their roll-on roll-off freight division. 

Cut-away deck profile of M.V. Tipperary and sistership of M.V. Ibex

The route's UK port switched to Liverpool in 1988 with Tipperary remaining on the route until sold to North Sea Ferries in 1989 and renamed Norcape. Prior to her transfer to the North Sea, the Tipperary collided with the 4,674grt bulker Sumburgh Head off the entrance to Dublin Port on 18 February 1988. For a report and photo taken of the two vessels which met at the port last year under different names click here.

Like the Tipperary the Sumburgh Head was built in Japan too by Hashihama Zosen KK, Imabari in 1977, yard no. 624. During her Dublin Bay incident, the vessel was owned by Christian Salvesen (Shipping) Ltd based in Edinburgh.

In 1990 she was sold to Barra Head Shipping Ltd and renamed Hood Head under the Irish flag. Three years later sold again to the KG Jebsen group and renamed Husnes.

The Panamanian flagged bulker remained with the Norwegian owner until 2003 when sold to her current owners, Wilson Shipowning AS of Bergen and renamed Wilson Tana, this time under the Maltese flag.

In addition to services running out of Rosslare operated by Celtic Link Ferries and Irish Ferries and the alternative option of landbridge connections to Europe via the UK.

In the meantime, the Port of Cork will continue to be in dialogue with potential operators and investor's, however in the current climate it is proving more challenging to establish the service. Yet both the port authorities in Cork and Gijon remain committed in establishing the first direct Irish-Iberia passenger ferry route, with an update on the Spanish service due in early June.

Since 2008 the port authorities of Cork and Gijón, through the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping and Co-Operation with Small Medium Enterprise's (Proppose) an EU Inter-Reg project, have conducted feasibility studies into the service.

Interest in the service to date, has shown interest from Brittany Ferries, P&O Ferries and Transfennica, a Scandinavian based operator. It was envisaged that a ro-pax type of vessel would operate the 24-hour route to Gijón in Asturias, the region which forms part of Spain's northern 'Green' coast.

The route across the Bay of Biscay would be an attraction to freight hauliers, saving mileage and reduced fuel costs in addition avoiding a weekend ban to trucks travelling through France.

Last summer the ro-pax Norman Bridge started a new route between Nantes / St. Nazaire (Montoir-de-Bretagne) and Gijón, operated by GLD Atlantique. This route received support through the EU 'Motorways of the Seas' (MOS) programme to divert vehicle traffic from congested road-infrastructure and transferred to designated shipping routes, using larger and faster ro-pax vessels.

The route's opening was marked with a declaration signed by Dominique Bussereau, the French Minister of State responsible for Transport and his Spanish counterpart Magdalena Alvarez of the first of two Franco-Spanish MOS concept routes, starting with the 14-hour GLD Atlantique service.

The vessel has accommodation for 12 drivers. Most of the daily sailings depart Dublin at 15:15hrs and return from the Lancashire port at 02:15hrs. On certain days the schedules vary, to view the timetable click here.

In addition to the new route for Seatruck Ferries, the freight-only operator has a fleet of 8 vessels on routes between Dublin-Liverpool, Warrenpoint-Heysham and Larne-Heysham.

Anglia Seaways arrived into Dublin yesterday morning from Avonmouth Docks, where the 120 unit capacity vessel went into temporary lay-up period, since departing the Irish capital on 31 January (see related posting and photo).

The 13,073grt vessel revived the 8-hour route yesterday with an afternoon sailing bound for Heysham. The vessel was originally reported to be relocated to Baltic Sea operations, but with its charter to Seatruck, the DFDS Seaways funnel symbol of the Maltese cross was painted out.

Though, the Maltese cross can still be seen in Irish ports with calls made by sisterships, Dana Gothia (ex. Maersk Westland) and Dana Hollandia (formerly Maersk Waterford) which are part of the DFDS Group container subsidiary DFDS Logistics.

In total the Lo-Lo shipping division operates four vessels on several routing options with weekly calls to Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Waterford to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.

The German built sisters originally operated Dublin-Rotterdam and Waterford-Rotterdam routes for Norfolk Line (a subsidiary of Maersk / A.P. Moller Group).Incidentally Maersk /Norfolkline also owned the Anglia Seaways until DFDS Seaways purchased the vessel last year.

The ro-pax Dublin Seaways made a last crossing with a Saturday morning arrival at Birkenhead. After disembarking passengers, vehicles and freight traffic, the 21,856grt vessel immediately departed the Mersey for a short-term deployment on the company's North Sea Rosyth-Zeebrugge service.

Sistership, Liverpool Seaways also completed her last crossing to Birkenhead with an overnight Saturday sailing. This was the final scheduled sailing under DFDS Seaways ownership and marked the last foot-passenger crossing on the Liverpool route as rival operators P&O (Irish Sea) and Seatruck Ferries do not cater for this market.

The vessel returned to Dublin yesterday from Birkenhead; this was to facilitate the loading of drop-trailers and terminal based tugmasters (engine-driven truck/cabs) that tow unaccompanied trailers on the roll-on roll-off vessels. After a short turn around at the terminal, Liverpool Seaways departed Dublin, bound for Immingham. The UK east coast port is where DFDS operate an extensive freight route network across the North Sea.

The ro-pax Liverpool Seaways and freight-ferry Anglia Seaways berthed in Dublin Port yesterday prior to sailing away from the Irish Sea. Photo Jehan Ashmore / ShipSNAPS

In addition the 13,704grt Anglia Seaways also docked in Dublin yesterday from Heysham to perform similar duties like the Liverpool Seaways. Several hours later, the 114-trailer capacity vessel set a southbound course past The Muglins, bound for Avonmouth.

DFDS cited its decision to exit entirely from Irish Sea sector due to the sharp decline in the Irish and UK economies in 2008 and 2009. The company suffered continuous losses on its remaining routes and the issue of over-capacity, particularly on the north Irish Sea.

Only last December, the Danish owned shipping operator sold its other two Irish Sea routes to Stena Line in a £40m acquisition deal. This is all the more remarkable considering DFDS Seaways purchased the previous route operator, Norfolkline's Irish Sea division of their four routes and seven vessels, in July 2010.

The sale to Stena covered the three terminals used on the Belfast routes to Birkenhead and Heysham, which is another freight-only service. In addition the acquisition involved the sale of the South Korean built freight-ferries Hibernia Seaways and Scotia Seaways; like the Anglia Seaways they were all former Norfolkline / Maersk Line vessels.

Interestingly the acquisition is to include the purchase of the chartered 27,510grt ro-pax sisters Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways. When the Visentini built sisters were completed at the Italian shipyard, they were placed on the Belfast-Birkenhead route in 2005.

On 1 December Stena Line UK Ltd acquired DFDS Seaways Irish Sea Ferries Ltd (since renamed Stena Line Irish Ferries Ltd). Although the acquisition of SL ISF by Stena Line has been completed and DFDS no longer owns SL ISF, Stena Line await formal approval from the Irish competition authority and the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to integrate SL ISF into the wider Stena Line business.

In the meantime during this transitional period, it is business as usual for customers using the Belfast-Birkenhead and Belfast-Heysham routes. Online bookings continue to be accepted on www.dfdsseaways.com or tel: (01) 819 2999 and in the UK tel: 0871 230 033

The spectacular effect of the life-size rainbow had never been achieved before in Ireland. Steve Green, the director of the advertisement used a 35mm film, with footage from HD cameras, including one mounted on the helicopter which hovered over the 'new' landmarks of the 'Docklands'.

The imaginative advertisement was created by Sweet Media, the production company chosen to produce the campaign, under the direction of the National Lottery's advertising agency, DDFH&B. The soundtrack for 'Making Magic Happen' is the appropriately titled 'Pocketful of Rainbows', sung by Elvis Presley. The version used is Take 16 from the 1960 recording sessions for the 'G.I. Blues' soundtrack.

As for the stars of the advert, the tugs are named after Irish figures, Shackleton, named in honour of Antartic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton and Beaufort, named after Navan-born, Sir Francis Beaufort, who created the world-renowned wind-scale measurement.

The 50-bollard ton tugs cost €6m each and were built at the Astilleros Zamakona Shipyard, Bilbao. In March the tugs officially entered service after a joint naming ceremony was held in Dublin Port.

To view the tugs in water-firing, making magic mode!... click the link here