
SeaCat was the marketing name used by Sea Containers Ferries Scotland for its services between Northern Ireland, Scotland and England between 1992 and 2004. The company was originally based in
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
later moving to Belfast. The name originates from the use of high-speed
catamaran
A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
ferries.
History
SeaCat announced that they would open a service from Belfast to
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
in Scotland. The route would take just 90 minutes, berth to berth. On 1 June 1992 the service opened using ''SeaCat Scotland'', a fast 74 metre
Incat
Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built s ...
craft built in the same year.
Services to Stranraer ran smoothly until
Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...
announced in November 1995 they would move to Belfast from
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)[Larne/Latharna]
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...
and operate to Stranraer. In 1999 SeaCat was feeling the pinch of the growing success of the
Stena HSS and on 29 April that year began a daily service to
Troon
Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...
alongside the Stranraer service.
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
council requested that SeaCat dropped the Troon link in favour of Stranraer, or else SeaCat would have to vacate Stranraer by 2000. SeaCat ceased operations to Stranraer on 13 March 2000; however, there was an agreement in place that SeaCat could use the port in the "event of an operational need".
In 2003,
P&O Irish Sea began to serve Troon on a seasonal basis, in direct competition to SeaCat. SeaCat incurred losses, despite the service being far more popular than that run by P&O and being a year-round service. By December 2003 the SeaCat service switched to being a seasonal service. The 2004 season started on 12 March and ended on Monday 1 November 2004.
In January 2005 SeaCat announced they were to 'review the service' and a 'definitive' decision would be made within 30 days. On 7 February 2005, SeaCat closed their 12-year-old service.
Changes in the ferry industry
When SeaCat were reviewing their service they expressed views on how the shipping industry underwent immense change.
When the company was formed back in 1992 they were the first car-carrying high speed catamarans on the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
. However, in 1996
HSS was introduced by Stena Line which made a mark on SeaCat. This mark caused the closure of their
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
services.
In 2000, when SeaCat switched services to
Troon
Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...
, they had success which was in the forms of full vessels per sailing. This was short-lived when in 2003
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and from England to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisi ...
Irish Sea also began operating a Larne-Troon service, which beat SeaCat's time by 40 minutes. In 2004 the losses were 'immense' and the route had to be discontinued.
SeaCat were the pioneers of fast ferry travel in 1992–1996.
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and from England to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisi ...
subsequently reviewed and ceased their
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)[Larne/Latharna]
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...
to
Troon
Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...
service in 2015, citing poor passenger volumes.
Terminals
Belfast
The Belfast terminal at Donegall Quay was constructed in the 1960s for a service between Belfast and
Ardrossan
Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...
. This service was terminated and the terminal lay disused for some time. It was then used by P&O Ferries between Donegall Quay in Belfast and Princes Dock in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. This service was closed in November 1981.
Belfast Car Ferries later operated the service to Liverpool (Brocklebank Dock) which closed in October 1990. It originally had two passenger walkways; however, one was removed in 1996. The
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited (abbreviated to IoMSPCo or, locally, The Steam Packet ()) is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830.
The company provides freight, p ...
used the terminal up to 2008, when they moved to a new terminal at Albert Quay. The Donegall Quay terminal lay disused once again for 3 years, and was eventually demolished in 2011. The remains of the terminal area are now used by local car enthusiasts to hold car meets and cruises, which are called SeaCat Cruise which is a direct reference to the purpose the terminal formerly served. As of 2019, the former terminal area is now home to the AC Hotel by
Marriott, which is a 4 star hotel.
Stranraer
The
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
terminal was constructed in 1991 and had one passenger walkway. The terminal was used up until April 2000 when services moved to Troon. The terminal building was demolished soon after vacation of the harbour, the walkway remaining until 2005. The harbour area which SeaCat once occupied at Stranraer has since been developed into a marina as part of the waterfront redevelopment being carried out by
Dumfries and Galloway Council
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the ...
. As of November 2008, the marina has been opened and currently is home to many small pleasure craft.
Troon
The terminal building was a
portable building
A portable, demountable or transportable building is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located.
Smaller version of portable buildings are also known as portable cabins. Portable cabins are prefabricated struct ...
and was used up until 2004. There were two portable buildings, one of which, the 'foot passenger lounge' was cleared as soon as the service was terminated. The check-in building persisted until April 2008 when it was cleared as well. The facilities are being redeveloped into a berth for cargo ships.
Fleet
The fleet consisted of first generation high speed catamarans. They were 74 metre
Incat
Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built s ...
ships built in Hobart, Tasmania in the early 1990s.
''SeaCat Scotland''

''SeaCat Scotland'' was the sole ferry the company used between 1992 and 2002. She was chartered in 1995 and renamed
Q-Ship Express for a month, reverting to ''SeaCat Scotland'' at the conclusion of her charter in December 1995. On 31 October 2002 ''SeaCat Scotland'' left Troon for the final time and was laid-up at Belfast and overhauled. She arrived at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
on 28 November 2002. For 2003-2004 she operated for
Hoverspeed
Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed Se ...
between Dover and Calais. From September 2004 until March 2007 she was laid up in Sunderland. She is now in service with many of her former SeaCat/Hoverspeed fleet mates in Greece as the "Naxos Jet".
SeaCat ''Rapide''
''SeaCat Rapide'' was used by SeaCat in 2001 for
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
services, and also between
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. (The Liverpool-Dublin route was also closed in November 2004). In 2002 SeaCat used her on the Belfast to Heysham service, which stopped on Wednesday 21 August 2002 when the ''Rapide'' had an engine fire on the 07:00 service to Heysham. In 2003 and 2004 she was used on the Belfast to Troon route (Seacat Scotland operated Dover-Calais). Rapide was the final craft Seacat used on their Troon route. Rapide left Troon for the final time with the 19:30 service from Troon on Monday 1 November 2004. She left Belfast for the final time at 16:20 on 8 November 2004 bound for Sunderland to be laid up with ''Seacat Scotland'', ''Emeraude France'' and ''Diamant''.
She now operates for Baleria Caribbean as ''Jaume II''.
Other vessels
* ''SeaCat Danmark'' (1997–1999): now operates between
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and
Montevideo
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
as ''Atlantic Express''.
* ''SeaCat Isle of Man'' (2002–2003): operates for
Sea Jets as
HSC ''Master Jet''.
* ''
Hoverspeed Great Britain'' (2001): has been laid-up for sometime in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Owned by Sea Jets and is used for spare parts for other InCat 74m class ships.
* ''SuperSeaCat Two'' (2000): operates for
Atlantico Line as
HSC ''Hellenic Wind''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seacat
Ferry companies of Northern Ireland
Ferries of Scotland
High-speed craft
Transport companies established in 1991
Transport companies disestablished in 2005
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom
1991 establishments in Northern Ireland
2005 disestablishments in Northern Ireland