Irish Ferries cancels some Dublin to Holyhead sailings

The firm said it expects its Ulysses ferry will return to normal service by the middle of next week

Irish Ferries has apologised to passengers after one of its ships was taken out of service for repairs.

Its Ulysses ferry, which serves the Dublin to Holyhead route, has been affected by a technical fault and will be out of action for a number of days.

The firm is contacting all affected passengers and most will be offered an alternative place on its other ships.

Two weeks ago, Irish Ferries cancelled almost 6,000 summer ferry bookings between Ireland and France.

• Fury over Irish Ferries cancellations

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Those cancellations were due to a delay in the delivery of its new ship, the WB Yeats.

In a statement on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said: "Irish Ferries apologies for this unforeseen disruption, and can confirm that its other ships on the route continue to operate.

"In addition, the company will operate additional sailings over the week-end, which may mean altering some existing schedules to accommodate these.

"All passengers are being notified in advance and offered a suitable alternative."

She added that at this point, the firm expects that the Ulysses will return to normal service by the middle of next week.

Earlier this month, passengers whose summer holiday plans were disrupted by the WB Yeats cancellations vented their fury to BBC News NI.

By last Friday, Irish Ferries said 86% of the 5,746 cancelled WB Yeats bookings had been resolved, mostly through alternative Irish Ferries sailings to Cherbourg, or full refunds.