IRISH FERRIES HAS cancelled 6,000 summer bookings due to a delay of the delivery of its new ship.

The company made the announcement this afternoon, citing “extraordinary circumstances beyond its control”. It says that shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft & Co.KG (FSG) has delayed the delivery of the ship.

“Because of the uncertainty caused by this additional delay, Irish Ferries has no option but to cancel all the planned sailings to France for W.B. Yeats this Summer, with the ship now likely to commence sailing with Irish Ferries on Dublin / Holyhead as scheduled in September. Irish Ferries is contacting affected customers this afternoon to inform them of the cancellations, offer them alternative travel options, and apologise for the disruption to their travel arrangements.”

The cancellations will hit 6,000 bookings, with Irish Ferries advising customers of the alternative options, including direct sailings on its Oscar Wilde ship or sailing to the UK and then to France.

Customers who choose the latter option will be reimbursed the cost of their fuel requirements from the port of arrival in the UK to the port of arrival in France.

For customers who choose neither option, a full refund is available.

Irish Ferries was previously forced to cancel July sailings for the W.B. Yeats when they were informed in April by FSG, of the initial delay. Around 2,500 bookings were impacted by the earlier cancellation.

A statement said:

“Irish Ferries very much regrets the inconvenience these cancellations cause our customers and hopes that as many as possible will choose to be accommodated via the company’s alternative arrangements and continue with their holiday plans. As valued customers of Irish Ferries, we are offering each affected customer a €150 voucher which can be used on any of our Ireland-France routes next year.”