Paul Grant, Route Manager Irish Sea North for Stena Line (centre), collected the Best Ferry award on the night, and is pictured here with (L-R): Zara Shaw, Awards presenter James Nesbitt, Julie Hastings of category sponsor Hastings Hotels, and Sara Moore.

LEADING ferry company Stena Line is celebrating after winning top ferry company for a record-breaking 24th time at the annual Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards.

The ‘Best Ferry Company’ award was presented to Paul Grant, Route Manager, Irish Sea North for Stena Line at the awards ceremony on Friday (October 21) at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa in Newcastle.

Northern Ireland Travel News has organised these prestigious awards for the past 25 years and this year’s ceremony was hosted by much loved actor Jimmy Nesbitt who ensured attendees were entertained all night.

The awards ceremony was attended by over 450 people from the local travel and tourism industry and awards were given out over 30 categories, which is the largest number of categories to date.

Orla Noonan, Head of Travel at Stena Line said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this much coveted award and it is particularly special as the recognition comes from our peers in the travel industry.

“We have a fantastic, hard working team at Stena Line and this accolade is a great testament to our total commitment to quality ferry travel on all of our routes, as well as our dedication to our customers.

“We pride ourselves on delivering excellent customer service and we always strive to demonstrate our passion every step of the way,” added Orla

Stena Line is the market leader on the Irish Sea, offering the biggest fleet and the widest choice of routes from Ireland to Britain, including Belfast to Cairnryan, Belfast to Liverpool, Dublin Port to Holyhead, Rosslare to Cherbourg and Rosslare to Fishguard.

The company carries approximately three million passengers on its Irish Sea routes each year, more than its rival ferry operators combined.