M.V. Julia's inaugural sailing to Swansea.

Excitement is building ashore and on board as the launch date (lst March 2010) of the inaugural sailing from Cork to Swansea aboard the impressive MV Julia approaches.

Stakeholders, tourism bodies, small businesses, the Irish diaspora, and the public at large are logging on to the Fastnet Lineï¿½s website on a daily basis checking out the offers available and, according to Tom Barrett Chief Executive of Fastnet Line, sailing bookings are now topping 1,200 confirmed bookings with 2 out of 3 bookings coming from the UK market.

ï¿½The service expects to enjoy strong demand from both tourist and freight customers on both sides of the Irish Sea. Fastnet Line believes that it will contribute greatly to the development and promotion of tourism in the south and sustain more than 1,000 jobs. The service is worth more than ï¿½50 million annually to the local economy. We look forward to welcoming passengers aboard our fantastic ship and providing a relaxing and efficient route between the South West of Ireland and the UKï¿½.

Mr. Barrett went on to outline the cost-effective packages available to families in particular, with their current on-line offer, with children travelling free and special fares for bookings before the end of January, subject to certain conditions. ï¿½Freight carriers and groups too, are well catered for, and with the upcoming St. Patrickï¿½s Day holiday, Easter and Cheltenham Races, and The Ryder Cup and Glastonbury Festival later on in the year. This is a great opportunity to sail away on a mini-cruise and explore new horizons in the greater Swansea area, or head on to London which is just 3 hours on the M4 from the ferry port in Swanseaï¿½ he said.

He also stressed that, on the flip side, UK visitors can pop over to Cork and the South West to ï¿½enjoy our gorgeous scenery, excellent hotel and guesthouse rates and unique shopping experiences. This region is renowned for its sailing, walking tours in the Cork and Kerry region, excellent surfing and a reputation for the best in Irish food. With several events and festivals throughout the region including the West Cork Rally (St. Patrickï¿½s Weekend), Baltimore Heritage Festival in April, West Cork Walking Festival in May and down the line this area has so much to offer with Live at the Marquee and Cork Week sailing in June and July and so many more festivals running throughout the year. All this contributed to tourism in the area which benefits all of usï¿½.

As the service counts down to its date of departure, the crew of the MV Julia are going full steam ahead in preparing the vessel for its seaward journeys, working closely with health and safety bodies, local suppliers and its many supporters in ensuring that everything goes to plan. Mr. Barrett told us: ï¿½MV Julia is a comfortable, sturdy and seaworthy passenger/car ferry. It is well capable of providing a year-round service, and is backed by a team of industry professionals who have sailed the seven seas in vessels such as this. We are looking forward to welcoming people aboard for an enjoyable and safe trip to and from Swansea.ï¿½

For further information or to arrange an interview with The Fastnet Line personnel please call:

Mary Hopkins/Judy Hopkins
Hopkins Communications Cork
00 353 21 4272200; 00 353 87 2540804 (cellphone).
mary@hopkinscommunications.ie