Ferry Ireland - Ferries to Ireland

Useful P O Scottish Ferry Information

You will find lots of P O Scottish Ferry information and resources here at ferryireland. Ferries come in all shapes and sizes, from small cable ferries all the way up to almost cruise boat size proportions. Ferry crossings from the mainland UK to Europe are as popular as ever due to the increasing demand for European travel.

The Channel Tunnel has only served to make the ferry boat operators more competitive and real fare bargains are now regularly offered.

P&O European Ferries (Irish Sea) was formed in 1998 by the merger of the Cairnryan-based service of P&O European (Felixstowe) Ltd. and Pandoro Ltd. who operated the routes from Ardrossan - Larne, Fleetwood - Larne, Liverpool - Dublin and Rosslare - Cherbourg.

Ferries that carry cars across a large waterway are sometimes referred to as "RORO" ferries (roll-on and roll-off) for the ease by which vehicles can board them and then leave. Roll on roll off ferries are usually quite large, conventional ferries named for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.

Waterjet powered Catamarans that can carry over 350 cars and more than 1000 foot passengers are also used in the English Channel and Irish Sea crossings. Stena Line own and operate one of the largest Catamarans in the world.

Red Funnel Ferries have sailed between Southampton and the Isle of Wight and Cowes for over 140 years. The journey takes around 55 minutes and is available 364 days a year. Formed in 1861, the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Public Limited Company has the longest name of any quoted company in the UK.

Superfast Ferries an Attica Group company was formed in 1995 and is based in Athens, Greece, together with Blue Star Ferries. Superfast Ferries operates lines in the: Adriatic Sea: Ancona and Bari, Italy - Igoumenitsa and Patras, Greece; Baltic Sea: Rostock, Germany - Hanko, Finland; North Sea: Zeebrugge, Flanders - Rosyth, Scotland.

Irish Ferry operator Irish Continental Group plc known locally as Irish Ferries operates on the following routes. Dublin to Holyhead and from Rosslare to Roscoff, Cherbourg, and Pembroke. Irish Ferries was formed in 1972 and it's first operations were between Rosslare and Le Havre. In 1992, Irish Ferries took over B & I Line which operated ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead. The company's flagship ferry "Ulysses", is the world's largest car ferry.

Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that operates between France, Spain, the UK and Ireland. The company was founded by Alexis Gouvernnec in January 1973. The first operations were between Roscoff in Brittany and Plymouth in the South West of England. The company was originally called BAI (Bretagne-Angleterre-Irelande).

Cities that are surrounded by waterways such as Venice use ferries extensively as part of their public transport system. In such cases ferries are employed to do the work of bridges and tunnels as their relative capital cost is much lower. These foot passenger only ferries are sometimes called waterbuses or even water taxis.

Sea ferries dock at specialised facilities designed to position the boat for loading and unloading. These areas are called the ferry slip. If the ferry is carrying vehicles or railroad cars an adjustable ramp called an apron may form part of the ship and is used for loading and unloading.

Useful Ferry Information