Storm-hit Holyhead Port closes terminal after ‘berth incident’

One of Britain’s busiest ports has closed one of its terminals following a “berthing incident” caused by severe weather conditions.

The incident took place on Friday at Terminal 5 of Holyhead Port on Anglesey, Stena Line Port announced, who said the terminal will remain temporarily closed to ensure safety.

It added that the port “continues to facilitate the full sailing schedule for ferry operators”.

Holyhead faced months of disruption after Storm Darragh hit Wales in December 2024, having only fully reopened in July after seven months of partial closure.

Two berths at Holyhead were damaged hours before the height of a rare red weather wind warning that battered Wales last December.

The port was closed for five weeks, including over the Christmas period, as engineers fixed one of the damaged berths – Holyhead partially reopened in January and services resumed to a revised timetable.

The other berth took seven months to repair and reopened in July, but the economic impact of the closures was estimated at £500m in lost trade.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, Member of the Senedd for Ynys Môn, described the announcement as “worrying” one year on from the previous disturbance, which had implications for the local community.

“The priority now must be to understand what exactly has happened and what the implications might be,” he said in a statement.

More than 1.5m people pass through Holyhead every year making it the most popular sea route between the UK mainland and the Republic of Ireland.

Stena Line said current weather conditions prevent a full assessment but that services would continue according to “the full sailing schedule”.