MV Julia to sail between Swansea and Cork
Ferry Online Travel News 28/09/2009
The Finnish vessel wil ply the reopened route from March 2010
The recently refitted MV Julia made its much-anticipated debut in Ireland this week. The 28-year-old Finish behemoth, acquired at a cost of €7.8 million, will sail the reestablished Swansea-Cork ferry link from March next year.
In its maiden Irish voyage, MV Julia set sail from Wales to pull into Cork's Horgan Quay yesterday. The vessel is set to be further redecorated before it joins the Fastnet Line next year.
The Finnish vessel can carry in excess of 1,800 passengers, and can also accommodate 400 cars and 30 large-sized trucks aboard.
Monies to acquire the ship and also to reestablish the Swansea-Cork route were advanced by the Finnish bank Aktia and its finance corporation, Atkia Yritysrahoitus Oy. West Cork Tourism had been campaigning since early this year to raise enough money to have the ferry route between Wales and Ireland re-opened.
The route, abandoned since 2006, is expected to reinvigorate traffic between the two countries. Parties campaigning for its reinstatement have said that both sides of the link have seen their economies suffer since the link was abandoned.
The tourism board had said it needed €2.6 million to reopen the link, and now another €2.5 million is now being sourced to help fund the running of the route.
MV Julia will provide its services on the newly reopened link from March next year. The route is expected to pull in much passenger and cargo traffic, and it is hoped it will lead to the creation of 500 related jobs. Fastnet Line, which will operate the route, believes it will be a huge boost for the tourism in the region.
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