With nine ferries making up to 40 arrivals and departures each day to and from four ports in Great Britain, it is fair to say that the Port of Larne is a bustling transport hub.
When you add the 350,000 freight units, 155,000 tourist vehicles and almost 750,000 passengers which passed through the port in 2001, perhaps, “bustling” doesn’t do it justice.
And what makes the figures even more impressive is the backdrop against which they were achieved. The foot and mouth crisis quickly followed by the tragic events of September 11th made 2001 an extremely difficult year for transport and tourism.
Denis Galway, Managing Director of the Port of Larne, attributes the ports success to it’s commitment to customer service: “We work very closely with operators to ensure that our facilities enable them to offer a first-class service to their customers. In recent years, P&O Irish Sea have introduced new vessels with greater capacity to their Larne services which indicates their confidence in our capabilities.”
The 7.9% increase in freight traffic underlines the preference for Larne Port by commercial operators which is undoubtedly due to the excellent choice of sea crossings, high frequency, shorter turnaround times and second-to-none port facilities.
The Larne-Cairnryan route with the shortest and fastest crossing between Ireland and Great Britain is also very attractive to tourists. P&O Irish Sea’s Superstar Express continues to provide a record-breaking one-hour crossing from Larne to Cairnryan complemented by European Causeway and European Highlander which makes the crossing in 105minutes.
The Port of Larne is committed to continually improving and enhancing the services to and from the port. Early in 2001, the Larne-Fleetwood service welcomed a third ship and has seen significant growth both in freight traffic and in the number of tourists, choosing this route. The relocation of the Larne-Ardrossan freight service to Larne-Troon in 2001 offered improved facilities to handle the increasing traffic on the popular Northern Ireland- Scotland sailings.
And with a new freight route from Larne to Liverpool in operation since the beginning of 2002 and European Highlander, a new £36m, joining the Larne-Cairnryan route in July, it’s easy to see why the Port of Larne is displaying a quiet confidence for the year ahead.
Early indications would suggest that the confidence is justified as figures show a 12% increase in commercial vehicles and 6.4% increase in tourist vehicles through the port in the first eight months of 2002, proving the popularity of the Port of Larne as a gateway to and from Great Britain.
In response to a growing demand for high quality storage, the Port of Larne provides an excellent Distribution Centre with a total 11,000 sq. metres of storage space. The centre which includes frozen, chilled and ambient areas, offers a complete range of service including next day delivery, break bulk and order picking from stock. Currently being used by more than 30 leading UK and Irish importers and exporters, it is an essential facility at the port.
Larne is proud of the service it delivers and the unique benefits which it offers. The port is a deep-water port close to the open sea with no tidal restrictions. Improved landward access is underway through a £12m improvements programme to the A8 road between Larne and Belfast.
The Port of Larne is more than a bustling transport hub. It is a force to be reckoned with and fully deserving of it’s reputation as Ireland’s premier ferry port.