The two vessels that currently maintain the Liverpool-Dublin service, NORBAY and NORBANK will be redeployed elsewhere on P&O Ferries route network in the coming months, said Mr Hebblethwaite.

Earlier this year Peel Ports Group Ltd, owners of P&O Ferries berth at Liverpool's Gladstone Branch Dock No.3, informed the ferry operator that the current berth would be no longer available after the end of this year.

Over the space of the past few months, P&O Ferries has pursued every possible option to maintain the Liverpool-Dublin service, with discussion with Peel Ports Group Ltd and exhaustive consideration of other options available, all to no avail.

There are reports that the current berth is not being made available from 2024 because P&O Ferries won't sign a new long-term agreement with Peel Ports Group Ltd for the berth. It appears that Peel Ports Group Ltd has received an alternative proposal from an unnamed customer willing to show a long-term commitment to the berth.

The Liverpool-Dublin service is P&O Ferries only route between the UK and the Republic of Ireland and once saw four vessels employed on the route. However, following Brexit, and the rise of more direct services from Ireland to Europe, business has dropped off.

NORBANK and NORBAY were built in 1993/1994 for North Sea Ferries service between Hull and Rotterdam (Europoort) and can carry 114 passengers and 2,040 lanemetres of vehicles.

© Shippax / MH