Seatruck Ferries Voted Irish Shipping Line of the Year

Irish Sea freight ferry operator Seatruck Ferries has been voted "Irish Sea Shipping Line of the Year".

Seatruck Ferries received the award at the annual All Ireland "Transport & Logistics Awards" at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast on Friday, 10 September. The champagne breakfast in Belfast was attended by over 500 of the key players in the Irish transport industry,

The award was open to any shipping operation that sails into Ireland, including all ferry operations, container, bulk and liquid carriers.

Seatruck made it into the final three, with P&O Irish Sea and Stena Line also in contention. During the presentation ceremony Seatruck was praised for running an excellent operation, with a number of extremely favourable customer comments finally convincing the independent judging panel that Seatruck should be given the winning vote.

The award was presented by Ireland's leading transport journal, 'Export & Freight', and was sponsored by HSBC.

Seatruck is widely recognised within the haulage community as providing unparalleled levels of service to its freight clients, who value the customer-focused approach of the close-knit Seatruck team. The company has gained a reputation for maximising results in what has been, and continues to be, a highly competitive market place.

By focusing on the needs of the freight industry, Seatruck Ferries provides efficiency and reliability with a friendly personal touch. In carefully choosing terminal locations that are not prone to major congestion problems, Seatruck Ferries' customers are able to maximise the efficiency of their operations while still taking advantage of easy links to the industrial heartland of both Ireland and England.

Excellent road links from Warrenpoint, coupled with increasing congestion in ferry terminals elsewhere in Ireland, has seen hauliers take a fresh look at their operations. Warrenpoint is not only an ideal base for ferry operations but can also offer warehousing and ancillary services at non-city-centre prices.

General Manager Alistair Eagles comments, "This is fantastic news for Seatruck. Winning this award against such quality opposition was a real 'giant killing' for us. Seatruck Ferries has proved that it is possible to run a successful ferry route by focusing on what freight customers actually require; that is a no-frills, low-cost method of moving their units reliably on a year- round basis. The continued growth of the service has been made possible by the enthusiastic Seatruck team. We are a young company who enjoy what we do."

Seatruck is now looking to increase capacity on the route. Larger, faster vessels will provide additional space for its customers and provide the opportunity for more new customers to experience the benefits of the route.

Seatruck is also examining other route opportunities where it can successfully mirror the high-quality, low-cost operation pioneered in Warrenpoint.