Ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland are being delayed by up to three hours this morning.
Services between Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway and Belfast and Larne are busier than usual due to the closure of Holyhead port on Anglesey.
The terminal, which links Wales with Northern Ireland, is shut until further notice after being badly damaged by Storm Darragh at the weekend.
With all ferry services cancelled, it means lorry drivers are being forced to use the links from Cairnryan to ensure they can make deliveries to Northern Ireland.
And that has led to significant delays, with P&O Ferries – who run services between Cairnryan and Larne – saying departures are being delayed by as much as 180 minutes.
In a Twitter post they said: “We’ll get you on the next available sailing at check-in – please come prepared for a longer wait. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.”
Stena Line, which runs services between Cairnryan and Belfast, is also warning of extensive delays.
Due to the volume of extra traffic, Operation Stack and Operation Overflow were launched on Wednesday evening, with HGV drivers told to park up at Castle Kennedy airfield and await further instructions.
A Police Scotland Facebook post read: “We would urge people to leave extra time if travelling on the A75 and A77 due to increased HGV traffic using the Port of Cairnryan at present.
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“A multi-agency approach is ongoing to manage the volume of traffic but journeys are likely to take longer than usual.
“We would like to thank people for their patience and consideration while this is ongoing.”
The problem is likely to continue for several days with Holyhead port not due to reopen until December 19 at the earliest.