Ferry Availability

Rathlin Island Ferry Service - about the service

The service between Rathlin and Ballycastle is operated by a private company who make use of the DfI owned ro-ro vessel, along with a passenger only vessel supplied by the company. The service is in operation every day of the year. DfI staff manage and monitor the performance of the operator. The timetable can be found at Rathlin Island ferry | nidirect.

Strangford Lough Ferry Service - about the service

The service between Strangford and Portaferry is operated and managed by DfI using 2 very similar ro-ro vessels. The vessels are used interchangeably as the need arises. The service is in operation approximately 15hrs daily every day of the year (except Christmas Day) and requires very careful maintenance, planning and support from internal engineering staff and external contractors. The timetable can be found at Strangford ferry timetable | nidirect.

Rathlin Island Ferry service availability 2026

Month	Scheduled sailings	Missed sailings	Availability % Month*	Availability % year to date*
January	211	54	100	100
February	241	58	100	100
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Strangford Lough Ferry service availability 2025 - 2026

Month	Scheduled sailings	Missed sailings	Availability % Month*	Availability % year to date*
April	1846	0	100	100
May	1916	0	100	100
June	1828	0	100	100
July	1893	0	100	100
August	1884	13	99.68	99.94
September	1831	0	100	99.95
October	1886	12	100	99.95
November	1820	0	100	99.96
December	1800	20	100	99.96
January	1847	43	99.29	99.90
February	1706	6	100	99.91
March	1875	28	98.94	99.82

^{* This does not include sailings which have been cancelled due to circumstances beyond DfI or Operator control i.e. weather related.}

Rathlin Island Ferry service availability 2025

Month	Scheduled sailings	Missed sailings	Availability % Month*	Availability % year to date*
January	269	33	100	100
February	252	46	100	100
March	318	17	100	100
April	390	8	100	100
May	505	0	100	100
June	480	14	100	100
July	550	29	94.7	99.2
August	534	40	100	99.3
September	479	18	100	99.4
October	295	66	100	99.7
November	266	52	100	99.8
December	223	44	100	99.8

^{* This does not include sailings which have been cancelled due to circumstances beyond DfI or Operator control i.e. weather related.}

Archived availability data from 2024

• Archived Ferry Availability