INTRODUCTION
Irish Ferries was founded in 1972 and initially began operations between Rosslare and Le Havre. In 1992, the company took over the British and Irish Steampacket Company Limited, a nationalised company, which traded under the trade name B&I Line and operated between Dublin and Holyhead. Irish Ferries is Ireland 's leading ferry company transporting passengers and freight between Ireland, Great Britain and Continental Europe. They are a division of Irish Continental Group.
Irish Ferries' reputation has been tarnished in the recent past, due to internal disputes between management and trade unions, which was finally resolved in December 2005. An acceptable settlement was formulated on both sides, following intensive talks.
A bitter industrial dispute at Irish Ferries ensued after management proposed to replace 543 employed seafarers with eastern European agency crew, and to reflag its vessels to Cyprus in the process. This resulted in a standoff, starting on 27 November 2005, whereby, local representatives and members from SIPTU, Ireland's largest union, responded by mobilising and applying industrial pressure. This was ultimately provoked by management decisions to bring agency crews aboard Irish Ferries. This resulted in its fleet being confined to Welsh and Irish ports for almost three weeks.
This report will be divided into four sections: an overview of the organisation, a company analysis, an industry analysis and finally our recommendations for growth and implementation options for Irish Ferries.
SECTION 1: IRISH FERRIES OVERVIEW
Governance Structure
Irish Continental Group, who operates through a decentralized management structure and leaves its companies to manage them independently, owns ...