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Report slams Welsh Senedd’s lack of urgency in Holyhead closure response

[ April 7, 2025   //   ]

The Welsh Parliament’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee said it was dismayed by the apparent lack of speed and urgency in the Welsh Government’s response to the closure of Holyhead ferry port in December.

In its initial findings, published on 3 April, into the storm damage and port closure that occurred after Storm Darragh hit the port on 6-7 December, the Committee said it there was little evidence that the Senedd had adequately addressed the closure issues. It was local action and collaboration between ports that prevented Holyhead’s closure from being a true disaster for Welsh trade and the economy, the report said.

The Welsh Government has shown a lack of attention to both ports and freight, it continued. Members believe that if there had been greater engagement with the ports and freight sectors, and the recommendations set out in the Committee’s report, ‘A New Direction for HGV Drivers’ had been implemented, then the Government would have been in a better position to respond to the crisis.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) told committee members that the first contact it had with the Welsh civil service was not until 24 December, two weeks after the closure. A lack of communication hampered the response because normally RHA is able to disseminate information on behalf of the Government.

The Irish Road Haulage Association went further, saying: “The communication at the advent of this storm was dire…There was a build-up of over 1,000 trailers in the Holyhead area, and they kept pouring in, because we weren’t told to stop, that it wouldn’t be happening… And to get the different bodies to come together, to allow us to go in through Milford Haven and into Fishguard and into Pembroke was slow. All of it went on for about a week.”

The report said that the berthing incidents involved two different vessels hitting a monopile causing it to collapse. Stena Line Ports noted that the incidents and damage caused are now subject to an ongoing insurance claim and potential recovery action and no further details can be provided at this time so as not to prejudice this process.

The committee chair had written to Irish Ferries, which did not respond to the Committee’s invitation to attend its session on 6 March and the chair is still awaiting a response to this letter. It added that members are extremely disappointed to have had no engagement with such a key stakeholder at this point in the inquiry.

Stena Line Ports added that while it had divers available, inspection of the damage was quite a slow process because of the weather conditions.

The Committee added that it has concerns around the initial Welsh Government response. Actions that it would have expected to happen on day one, for example contact with key trade bodies representing road freight, did not happen for the best part of a month and, in general the Welsh Government response timeline was unclear. Members believe the Welsh Government must undertake a thorough lessons learned exercise for this incident and should publish its findings to help avoid similar issues in the future.

It said the lines of Ministerial accountability and responsibility were unclear and to key stakeholders involved in the response and recovery efforts and this confusion may have exacerbated issues with the response to the emergency. The incident may have been better managed if there had been a specified Cabinet Secretary leading Welsh Government’s response.

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