P&O Ferries: We could see empty shelves in days, says TUV deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim Matthew Armstrong
Matthew Armstrong, a TUV councillor who also works in the logistics field, voiced serious concerns for how the Province will be able to cope with one of its two main Irish Sea ferry firms in limbo.
The Mid and East Antrim deputy mayor said that he is not convinced the Belfast to Scotland route, operated by Stena, has enough capacity to cope with all of Larne’s re-routed traffic.
He fears that Cairnryan could resemble “a war zone” in days to come, awash with Ulster lorry drivers who cannot get home.
He said P&O at Larne had about five sailings a day, “and on each sailing they’d have capacity for approximately in the region of 100 lorries... Stena will not be able to cope with that” extra load.
He added: “Some of the large supermarkets – Asda, Marks & Spencer – predominantly use the port of Larne, and if that stuff doesn’t get across you’re facing a situation whereby at the end of the weekend or start of next week, there’ll be shelves half empty.
“I don’t think that’s dramatic to say – it’s just a fact.”
Meanwhile Aodhan Connolly, the director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said the suspension of the P&O sailings across the Irish Sea would create challenges but the situation was “manageable” in the short term.
“The ongoing situation will put pressure on supply chains,” he said.
“While this is currently manageable, the longer the disruption continues, the higher the likelihood is that we could start to see some issues.
“Retailers are working with government to mitigate against this disruption, and we hope an effective resolution can be found quickly.”