New plan to boost Holyhead Port resilience to severe weather
The Welsh Government has published new recommendations from the Irish Sea Taskforce, set up to improve the resilience of Holyhead and other Irish Sea ports as severe weather events become more frequent.
The taskforce was established after a series of weather-related disruptions, including temporary closures at Holyhead Port in recent years.
Its report, published on Wednesday 14 January, sets out a series of practical steps to protect port operations, supply chains and passenger connectivity between Wales and Ireland.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said the report highlights the essential role played by Holyhead and other Irish Sea-facing ports in supporting communities and economies on both sides of the sea.
He said: “Discussions over the past 12 months within the Irish Sea Taskforce have reinforced the importance of Holyhead and our other Irish Sea ports to communities in Wales and Ireland and beyond, and our shared responsibility to make sure they thrive and grow.”
The taskforce brought together representatives from the Welsh and UK governments, the Government of Ireland, the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, local authorities, port and ferry operators, and the wider logistics sector.
Many of its recommendations will feed into a new Welsh Ports and Maritime, Freight and Logistics Plan, expected to be published before the end of the current Senedd term.
Among the key actions outlined in the report are:
- Establishing a Welsh Logistics Council to monitor and progress the taskforce’s recommendations
- Conducting a national truck stop facilities survey to inform the forthcoming freight and logistics plan
- Continuing resilience work on key transport corridors including the A55, A494 and M4
- Progressing Menai Crossings resilience improvements and reviewing options for A55 upgrades
- Working with regional partners on A40 and A477 route improvements
- Enhancing port stacking arrangements and welfare provisions for drivers during closures or delays
Mr Skates said the work had already proved valuable: “The beginning of this month saw us drawing on our experiences and initiating some of the learnings of the taskforce sessions following the brief closure of Holyhead Port – but without having to stand the taskforce up formally.”
The Welsh Government said the new Welsh Logistics Council will act as a “natural follow-on” from the taskforce, drawing on industry expertise to support ports, freight and supply chain priorities in the coming years.
Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports in Ireland, Seán Canney, welcomed the report and the closer working relationship it represents.
He said: “I thank Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates for his leadership of the Taskforce over the last nine months, along with all the officials and stakeholders who have worked on it. We have both strengthened old relationships and established new ones, which will continue through annual meetings and regular communication.
“Although the circumstances were far from ideal, I am delighted that our two departments have been brought closer together and I look forward to the deepening of this relationship over the coming years.”
The taskforce convened in March 2025 in response to the temporary closure of Holyhead Port in December 2024. It reviewed lessons learned from that event to ensure more robust contingency plans and faster recovery responses are in place for future incidents.
The recommendations include holding annual bilateral meetings between Welsh and Irish transport officials and improving coordination across governments and industry.
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