Australian catamarans berth in Belfast

Two state-of-the-art shuttle ferries specially designed in Australia for a new catamaran-ferry service in Belfast Lough have arrived in Northern Ireland.

The Australian built vessels, the Down Runner and Antrim Runner, successfully completed their 12,000-mile journey and arrived in Belfast port on Thursday September 13.

The new high-speed service, called Loughlink, has come to fruition thanks to a £4 million Australian investment and will connect major population centres in Bangor and Carrickfergus with central Belfast.

The service which is aimed at providing easy transportation and avoiding traffic jams for many country-city bound passengers will operate three morning rush-hour departures from both coastal towns.

Roy Bendall, project manager for the new service, said Belfast Lough is ideally suited for this sort of operation. He added: “The whole emphasis of Loughlink will be on comfort, speed and convenience and we’re aiming to entice commuters off the busy roads and on to the Lough for daily travel that allows them to sit back and enjoy the experience.”

Each ferry can carry 120 passengers and estimated journey times from both Bangor and Carrickfergus are expected to take about 25-30 minutes.

The ferry service will be accessible from pontoons at Donegal Quay in Laganside and at the Odyssey Arena Belfast’s new indoor 10,000-seat arena and entertainment centre. The service, which is hoped to be in operation from late November, will offer basic day return of £5 with cheaper deals for ticket holders. (AMcE)