Retailers are scrambling to get goods into the country as the crucial ferry route from Holyhead to Dublin has been closed for five days due to damage caused by Storm Darragh, writes Adam Pogrund.

Just two weeks before Christmas, hauliers have warned that “disastrous” backlogs will cause serious disruptions to trade and prevent people receiving some deliveries in time.

Ger Hyland, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), said: “People are expecting items to be delivered for December 25 that won’t arrive on time and shops won’t get stock.

“As an industry, we’re used to delays of a day or two. But this is unique.

“A five-day supply line being cut the week before Christmas will have a devastating impact.

“Our trailers are sitting on the far side of the Irish Sea.”

While a limited service is expected to resume later this evening, Mr Hyland pointed out that the route was expected to reopen by Monday, and every day since.

“But I don’t know when now,” he added.

“Lots of Christmas stuff is being held up: clothes, fragrances, foodstuffs.”

He said that a backlog normally takes three to four days to clear after two days of disruption, but this is now being compounded by other issues.

Mr Hyland remarked: “We have a driver shortage. Around 20% of our drivers will be heading off back to Eastern Europe for Christmas at the end of the week.”

He said trucks will be “going via Liverpool, Pembroke and Northern Ireland but boats are wedged”, adding: “There’s just not enough capacity.

“Trailers will be sent wherever we can get a booking.”

Darren Murphy, managing director of BM Transport, a haulage company based in Co. Monaghan, said: “It’s a disaster. Usually we have 100 trailers a day on the Holyhead [in Wales] to Dublin route.

“There’s a major backlog of trailers out of service. I have 85 to 100 sitting in Holyhead waiting to go.

“There’s been 85 sitting there since 1am on Sunday waiting to go. Since Monday I’ve been trying to take them to other ports.

“I have ten drivers stuck in Holyhead who I have no work for. It’s getting compounded every day.

“We carry stock for major supermarkets. Stuff which was supposed to be delivered on Monday won’t be seen until next week.

“It will become a bigger issue next week when people are low on stock.”

Hauliers have been forced to use alternative ports but are also facing capacity issues at those places.

Rosslare Europort, which was “working at capacity prior”, said Mr Hyland, “is completely blocked up with trade at the moment”.

Mr Murphy added: “It’s hard to find ways around it. It’s not physically possible.

“You’ve got Pembroke, Liverpool, Coleraine, Heysham [as alternative routes], but because of Brexit there are customs delays when you put foodstuffs and plants through to Ireland.

“In Liverpool, the port is overrun. Usually you can load your trailers on ferries days in advance, but because there is physically no space, you can’t drop them until 12 hours in advance.
“It’s slow going via Coleraine. It takes a day and a half to ship to Belfast and then to Ireland.”

Jean McCabe, CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland, said: “Any disruption to logistics has the potential to have a knock-on effect on product availability in stores.

“A majority of retailers would be well stocked up already in the run into Christmas but it does mean some products could be out of stock as they struggle to replenish from UK fulfilment bases.

“The timing around Christmas isn’t ideal but retailers are finding other routes, for example through the port at Liverpool.”

The Holyhead-to-Dublin route, operated by Irish Ferries and Stena Line, has remained closed in both directions since the Welsh port’s infrastructure was damaged by Storm Darragh on Saturday.

A spokesperson for Holyhead port originally said it was expected to reopen at 6pm on Tuesday, but all eight of yesterday’s Irish Ferries sailings from the port to Dublin were cancelled, as were the six in the other direction.

Holyhead is set to reopen at 5.15pm today, although with significantly reduced capacity.

The IRHA criticised outgoing Minister of Transport Eamon Ryan for being “nowhere to be seen” when Irish trade routes are “facing severe challenges” and called on Taoiseach Simon Harris to assume responsibility for the Department of Transport.

It said there has been “no emergency planning obvious following weekend travel disruption”.

Mr Hyland said the storm damage has exposed “a serious vulnerability on Irish trade, cross-Channel trade routes”, adding: “This has been compounded by the complete silence on the issue from the outgoing Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.

“We need someone in charge of the Department of Transport who is engaged, active and accountable.

“As an island nation these things need to be planned.”

A spokesperson at the Department of Transport said: “Since the difficulties first arose in Holyhead port, the department has been in constant contact with Dublin Port to monitor the situation and to liaise on contingency planning to avoid/reduce the possibility of congestion arising in the port or surrounding transport routes.

“The department is also engaging with the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Irish Exporters Association.

“The minister has been kept informed about the situation throughout.

“The minister would like to underline his appreciation for the flexibility and resilience shown by the maritime and haulage sectors during this challenging period.”

Holyhead port’s closure has also impacted An Post ahead of Christmas, but not as significantly, as “much of its parcel traffic comes by air freight”, a spokesperson said.

A spokesman for Dublin Port said it remains operational and has not experienced freight congestion, adding: “We are working closely with the operators to prepare for the resumption of Holyhead services.”

Around 90% of Ireland’s internationally traded goods are transported by sea, according to the Irish Maritime Development Office.

Last year, 113,164 trade vehicles were transported through Dublin Port.