No details on why port closed due to insurance claim

The company which owns Holyhead ferry port has insisted it cannot discuss the details of incidents which shut the port for more than a month due to an insurance claim.

The UK's second busiest passenger port was closed completely after two berths were damaged in early December during Storm Darragh.

A senior manager for port operator Stena Line told MPs he could not provide any details of incidents without prejudicing the claim, which Labour's Ruth Jones said was "very frustrating".

MPs on the Welsh Affairs Committee are considering the economic impact of the closure, from 7 December to 16 January.

One of those berths reopened on 16 January, allowing Stena and Irish Ferries to run their regular four daily services from a single berth until the second one is repaired.

Ian Davies, head of UK ports for Stena Line, said: "On the 6th and 7th of December there were two berthing incidents at Holyhead port.

"Subsequent to that it rendered the ferry terminals inoperable and those ferry terminals didn't reopen, partially reopen until the 16th of January."

He added: "Those incidents are now subject to an insurance claim and I can give no further details without prejudicing that insurance claims at this time I'm afraid."

Ruth Jones, the Labour Newport West and Islwyn Labour MP who chairs the committee, responded: "That is very frustrating for us but, obviously, we understand where you are coming from with that."

Mr Davies said Stena would be holding a review into what happened, but for now it concentrating on opening the second birth to ensure "robustness and resilience".

Anglesey council leader Gary Pritchard was asked by Ynys Môn MP, Plaid Cymru's Llinos Medi, what UK government money had been offered to businesses who lost income while the port was closed,

"I'm not aware of any support," he replied.

Discussions had begun with local firms to "provide evidence" of the impact of the disruption, he said.

But he added "I think the businesses have been impacted in a massive way" and their takings "fell off a cliff".

"Some businesses [were] only in business nine or 10 months, looking forward to Christmas as that boost to their first year," he said.

"Then the port closed in that first week in December and their takings fell off the figurative cliff.

"There are other companies who have been severely impacted because they dealt in logistics, they dealt in transport and truck services but, to my knowledge, no support has been offered."

Dr Edward Jones, senior Bangor University economics lecturer, said he was also unware of any support being given to firms "or what discussions are going on regarding that".

He called this a "surprise" because in Ireland "I know there's discussion there between the government and the Irish Road Haulage Association on what financial support they need now because of the increased costs that they have incurred."

On 7 January the Welsh government's Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates announced plans for a "new multi stakeholder task force to help deliver a new strategy for the future of Holyhead Port".

Asked by Medi how the task force work was "going", Pritchard said he had been heard nothing more about it.

"Since the announcement we haven't had any contact with regards to the task force," he said.

"I have written to the cabinet secretary for transport and north Wales in the Welsh government on the 31st [of January] just to welcome the task force and to ask what the task force will look like.

"But, as of yet, I haven't had any contact with regards to the task force - what it will look at and how it will be composed."

Responding to the committee's discussions, Skates told BBC Wales: "We continue to work closely with Anglesey council, who have been gathering evidence of the potential impact of the closure on local business.

"This work has been carried out alongside data collection via the Welsh government-funded Smart Towns programme which looked at the impact on Holyhead's High Street.

"We will consider all the evidence carefully before deciding on next steps."

The UK government has also been asked to respond.