One of Britain’s busiest ports will remain closed until 15 January at the earliest after it was damaged by Storm Darragh, it has been announced.
Holyhead on Anglesey was originally due to reopen on 20 December, but the port said Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 ferry berths will need to remain closed to prioritise safety.
The prolonged closure follows two incidents affecting the Terminal 3 berth on 6 and 7 December, resulting in part of the structure collapsing, which the port said made it unusable.
The port has apologised for the disruption on the main sea route between north Wales and Dublin in Ireland, but said it was still assessing the full extent of the damage.
It follows uncertainty as to whether the port would reopen before Christmas, and the Irish prime minister Taoiseach Simon Harris said on Monday it was “highly unlikely”.
However, the Welsh government had said on Monday that it remained hopeful it would open by 20 December.
Stena Line and Irish Ferries each operate four daily ferry sailings travelling each way between Holyhead and Dublin.
On average, two million passengers use Holyhead a year and about 1,200 lorries and trailers make the crossing every day.
The closure had already led Ireland’s national postal service to abandon plans to use Holyhead for Christmas deliveries.
President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Ger Hyland, said he was not surprised by the ongoing closure, but it continues to be “detrimental” to its members and the Irish and Welsh economies.
“We’re now travelling hundreds of miles more, paying higher ferry costs because of a lack of available routes,” said Mr Hyland.
“It’s meaning a huge commercial cost to the industry which won’t be seen until after Christmas,” he added.
Stena line apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it was doing all it could to mitigate the effects of the closure.
In a statement, the ferry operators said it was offering sailings from Dublin to its ports in Birkenhead, Fishguard and Heysham, as well as additional sailings from Belfast to Cairnryan to assist the flow of trade and passengers.
Managing director of haulage company BM Transport, Darren Murphy, said they would typically ship 75 to 120 loads a day through Holyhead but are having to run at half of its capacity.
The company is based in Monaghan, in Ireland, but also has a depot in Mona in Holyhead, and Mr Murphy says he is concerned it’s going to become an “absolute nightmare” going into January.
“I’d say nobody seems to have a solution and neither the Irish government or the Welsh government have come up with any sort of increase capacity,” Mr Murphy added.
In a joint statement, the Welsh and Irish government said it was “pressing on at pace” with contingency plans in a coordinated effort between itself, the Port Authority, Stena Line, Irish Ferries, and Isle of Anglesey council.
In a statement, it added: “We will continue to work together in the short term to ensure passengers and freight get through, and in the longer term to preserve the resilience and success of the Port of Holyhead, which is so important to both our nations.”
The closure of the port comes after Storm Darragh battered the UK with gusts up to 93mph (150km/h).
The high speed winds caused damage to Terminals 3 and 5, and the port said underwater inspections to begin remedial works were delayed to Tuesday, 10 December, once Storm Darragh had passed.