Passengers aboard a ferry bound for Belfast endured a 13-hour delay after the captain deemed it “unsafe” to dock due to severe weather conditions.
Storm Darragh kicked off on Friday night, causing widespread disruption across the UK and Ireland.
Eileen Roberts, 52, and her husband along with the other passengers were stranded on the ferry, while the vessel circled the Belfast coast.
The couple onboard the Stena Line vessel travelling from Scotland to Belfast Port, posted on a Facebook ‘Northern Ireland Shipping’ forum on Saturday saying their ferry was unable to dock.
“Currently aboard Stena Superfast VII…coming into Belfast Lough ship turned and captain announced it’s too unsafe to come into Belfast. Going round in circles for a few hours I suspect,” they said.
The couple faced double disruption as they attempted to travel back to Belfast from London.
Their initial Liverpool ferry was cancelled due to severe weather, and on Stena Line’s advice, they rebooked to travel from Cairnryan in Scotland.
However, two hours into the journey, the captain announced that docking in Belfast would be unsafe due to high winds.
Speaking to Sky News while still on the vessel, Ms Roberts said she had just one hour of sleep after a “scary” and “unsettling” night onboard the ferry.
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Ms. Roberts said: “My husband and I had flown to England late yesterday afternoon, where we were returning via the Liverpool ferry but were informed that it had been cancelled.
“We raced to Scotland, managed to make the ferry, which had been delayed. But about two hours into the journey, we were informed that it would not be docking in Belfast as it was unsafe due to the weather conditions.
“We have been out on the lough ever since the early hours of the morning.”
She added: “The boat’s pretty stable, but it does look very choppy outside. During the night, it was pretty black; we couldn’t see what was going on and it was a bit more unsettling. We can see outside now, and yes, it’s pretty rough out there, but the ship itself is pretty calm inside.
“I haven’t witnessed anyone getting frustrated. Everyone has been pretty understanding. The mood onboard is really calm. We’ve been well looked after, and the captain is giving regular updates in terms of what’s happening.
“But the last update he gave said that the gale-force winds are still preventing us from getting into Belfast.”
Storm Darragh caused widespread disruption across Northern Ireland, including a bus crash in Co Antrim, the cancellation of Stena Line ferry services from Belfast to Cairnryan in Scotland, and a power outage from one of NI’s leading providers.
NIE, one of the region’s key power providers, has been offline due to the severe weather, with the provider warning that full power restoration may not occur until Tuesday.