Fears are mounting that the vital Holyhead-Dublin sea route could remain closed until January, leaving retailers without Christmas stock, writes Adam Pogrund.

Hauliers have said this would represent a "nightmare" situation as Holyhead port has now been closed for seven days and counting. All ferries were cancelled again yesterday.

The closure of the route, which is vital for trade between Ireland and the UK, is set to cause shortages of pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs and packages ordered online ahead of Christmas.

Holyhead Port was closed after it sustained infrastructural damage last Saturday from Storm Darragh.

A spokesman for Holyhead Port said: "At this point, it is estimated that the berths will reopen for ferry traffic on Thursday December 19 at the earliest.

"Safety is of paramount importance to Holyhead Port and a thorough investigation into the extent of the damage and repairs required is ongoing."

Originally, management of the Welsh port said they were expecting it to reopen at 6pm on Tuesday. They later said it would open yesterday at 5.15pm.

However, sources say that the port might not reopen until the end of January.

Ger Hyland, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, said the situation is getting "more serious by the hour".

The crucial ferry route has now been closed for seven consecutive days, and if it reopens next Thursday, the earliest possible date, there will have been no sailings for 12 days.

Darren Murphy, managing director of BM Transport, a haulage company in Co. Monaghan, said that reopening next Thursday would be a "complete nightmare".

Hundreds of trucks containing shipments of food, clothes and Christmas presents remain stationary in the UK.

Mr Murphy said: "It's a disaster. Usually we have 100 trailers a day on the Holyhead to Dublin route.

"There's a major backlog of trailers out of service. I have 85 to 100 sitting in Holyhead waiting to go," he said.

"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 10 drivers stuck in Holyhead who I have no work for. It's getting compounded every day. We carry stock for major supermarkets. It will become a bigger issue next week when people are low in stock," he said.

Mr Hyland said: "People expecting items to be delivered for December 25 won't arrive on time and shops won't get stock.

"As an industry we're used to delays of a day or two. We soak it up and we get on with it. But this is unique. The backlog normally takes three to four days to catch up after two days."

Jean McCabe, chief of Retail Excellence Ireland, said: "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.