Following a five-day journey from Greece the 'newest and fastest' Ro-Ro (roll-on roll-off) passenger ship, Blue Star 1 arrived at Rosslare harbour this morning around 9am and travelled to Pembroke Dock port this afternoon.
This ship will be taking over from the Isle of Inishmore on the Rosslare-Pembroke route, while the Isle of Inishmore will then be taking on a new role as the ferry for the Dover-to-Calais route.
The Blue Star 1 and the Isle of Inishmore carrying capacities are both more than 29,000 gross tonnage, according to the marine traffic website.
Andrew Sheen, Irish Ferries, managing director spoke about the lighter vessel of the two, Blue Star 1, which is also the fleet's youngest ship at 21 years: "This ship will be the fastest RoRo Passenger ship operating between Britain and Ireland and this will help ensure schedule integrity. The introduction of this ship underlines our commitment to the Rosslare-to-Pembroke route, the primary shipping corridor between Ireland and south Wales."