Stena Line reports 'boom' in ferry travel

Ferry travel is 'booming', according to Stena Line, which has reported an increase in car and passenger numbers on its services from the UK to Holland and Northern Ireland.

The company recorded a 14.5 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic on its ferries from Harwich to Hook of Holland between April and June.

There was also a 38 per cent rise in the number of coaches transported across the North Sea in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year.

Stena Line passengers have been showing a strong interest in Northern Ireland recently, with 7.1 per cent more cars carried on ferries from Belfast to Stranraer in the three-month period from April to June.

Dermot Cairns, the company's general manager for Irish Sea travel, said the figures show that British travellers are "voting with their feet" and choosing ferry crossings as a "comfortable and convenient" way to get to Holland and Northern Ireland.

He added: "Some of the boost is attributable to the ash cloud and the extra passengers we carried at that time, many of whom also rediscovered ferry travel for future trips, but it is certainly not the case that the growth is purely ash-related.

"In June, after the volcanic plume issues had subsided, we carried 14 per cent more passengers and almost five per cent more cars across the North Sea than during the same month last year."

Posted by Andrew Smith

Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire

1 x Foot Passenger(s) Return

Travelling on: 01/04/2012 - 02/04/2012

£32

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Hook of Holland - Harwich

Car + 2 Return

Travelling on: 15/08/2012 - 17/09/2012

£141

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Hook of Holland - Harwich

Car + 4 Return

Travelling on: 15/08/2012 - 16/08/2012

£196

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* Prices are "from prices" and are indicative only

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