Ferry passengers shocked and saddened at death of man making trip from Belfast to Cairnryan

The incident is understood to have occurred as the 3.30pm Stena Line sailing from Belfast approached the Scottish port, resulting in the man being airlifted to a hospital in Ayr by a Coastguard helicopter.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We received a report of a man having gone overboard from a ferry at Belfast Way, Cairnryan. Emergency services attended and the man was taken to University Hospital Ayr.”

The police spokesperson added: “Enquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident remain ongoing, however there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances,”

A motorcyclist travelling home to Scotland from Belfast posted an account of the incident on social media.

He said: “Sadly my retirement trip had a disturbing and depressing ending. I boarded the Belfast - Cairnryan ferry and settled down for the short 2 hour sailing. As we approached Cairnryan, we were called down to the car decks, bikes unstrapped, and were waiting for the doors to open.

"Then a member of the crew told all passengers to return to the restaurant. The crew had to do a headcount… and the Police interviewed the witnesses.”

The passenger added: "After one and a half hours we were allowed to leave the ship, but this was done slowly to allow the Police to question each passenger. It was a very sad ending to my trip and one I still haven't got my head round”.