A new ferry operator has been selected for the Rathlin Island to Ballycastle, Co Antrim, route after the company previously operating it ceased trading.
Rathlin Island Ferry ran the service on behalf of Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure, and the department had been looking at contingency arrangements for the transport link.
Ferry crew members have been involved in strike action amid a row over pay. Rathlin, which is six miles off the coast of Co Antrim, has a permanent population of around 150 people.
It is popular with tourists and is also known for its colonies of breeding seabirds.
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The Department for Infrastructure announced on Wednesday that Dunaverty will be the new ferry operator on the route.
The development follows several weeks of engagement between the Department for Infrastructure and Rathlin Island Ferry in relation to matters arising from the contract between them, including the financial position of the ferry company.
The department received notification on Wednesday from the company that it is to cease trading with immediate effect.
“Recognising the importance of the ferry service for the local community, the department has been taking forward work on potential contingency arrangements with the expectation that these could be implemented urgently,” it said.
Weather permitting, the new operator will commence services from with a passenger only vessel running five return sailings a day.
Once all the relevant approvals are in place with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the full scheduled timetable of sailings will commence, including the department’s vehicle carrying vessel, the Spirit of Rathlin.
Charles Stewart, from Dunaverty, who also owns and operates Kintra Tours, said he was looking forward to getting underway.
“I am delighted to have been awarded the contract to operate the ferry service between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle and look forward to working with the Department, the existing workforce and the local community to continue to develop and grow this lifeline service,” he said.
The department has an oversight and co-ordinating role in relation to the Rathlin Island Policy, which is a NI Executive policy to ensure continued and sustainable growth of Rathlin, Northern Ireland’s only off-shore inhabited island.
One of the main priorities within the policy is to provide an affordable and reliable link between Rathlin and Ballycastle. The department said it welcomed “that this vital link has been able to be restored for the benefit of the local community and other visitors”.
