A dispute over the seizure of a ferry that provides the only access to Waterford Castle hotel and golf course came before the High Court yesterday.
Gardaí were last week called to a dispute between the hotel and its ferry operator which left people stranded on an island.
Guests at the Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort were unable to return home from a private island on which the hotel is located in Ballinakill on the Suir Estuary, just over 1km down river from Waterford city.
Cendant Ltd, which runs the hotel and golf course, the receiver of the complex Eoin Ryan, and Fabjoll, the firm running the ferry service, brought the action against the vessel’s owners, Galtee Plant Hire.
Under a charter agreement, the Loreley sailed between the foreshore and the island where the hotel is located. The ferry owners, who became unhappy with the manner in which the charter agreement was assigned by the receiver to Fabjoll last August, decided to terminate its charter with the hotel on September 16th. The hotel was given 14 days’ notice of the decision.
The hotel claimed that Noel Simpson, a director of Galtee Plant Hire, seized control of the ferry along with some other men on 27th September. As a result, the hotel owners, its receivers and the ferry service operator obtained temporary High Court orders restraining Galtee and Mr Simpson from entering on to or interfering with the vessel.
The matter came before Mr Justice Gerard Hogan at the High Court yesterday. Following discussions it was agreed the ferry would continue to provide the service until the end of the week. The receiver has made arrangements for a replacement vessel.
