The owners of the Fastnet Line are confident that their ferry the MV Julia will shortly pass maritime authority inspections and start her maiden voyage from Cork at 9pm, Saturday 6th of March.

Her inaugural sailing was supposed to leave Cork last night, but it had to be cancelled after mechanical difficulties were discovered. Conor Buckley, chairman of West Cork Tourism – which formed a cooperate to buy the 28-year-old ferry – said the problems, which were minor, were discovered last Thursday, while the ship was in dry dock in Swansea.

"Since then we have been working on rectifying them and people were working over the weekend," Mr Buckley said. He said surveyors were inspecting the ship. "All the indications are positive she [MV Julia] will pass certification shortly."

Mr Buckley – who recently won the Cork person of the year award for his effort in reinstating the ferry route – acknowledged it was disappointing the sailing had to be cancelled. "But people have been very understanding. A lot of people wanted to be on the first sailing, but many of them are now happy to go next weekend as it won’t entail taking time off from work."

Source: The Irish Examiner, March 2010