Britons could be facing travel chaos after Ireland’s Taoiseach warned Holyhead port is “highly unlikely” to reopen before Christmas following damage caused by Storm Darragh.

The port – located in Anglesey – acts as the main sea route between North Wales and Dublin, but Simon Harris warned the damage was becoming “more apparent as the days go by”, causing a big problem for those trying to get home for Christmas.

Work on the port is currently ongoing, but Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates remained hopeful Holyhead port’s operator will confirm by Wednesday whether it will open on Friday as planned.

He also said that Stena and Irish Ferries were still doing the best they could to get goods and people back to Ireland and Wales before Christmas.

The storm brought gusts of nearly 100mph, impacting several areas throughout the UK.

Parts of the berth structure collapsed following two berthing incidents during Storm Darragh, causing it to become unusable.

Stena Line Irish Sea trade director Johan Edelman said: “The unprecedented closure of Holyhead port in the run-up to Christmas has caused major upheaval in freight flows between Ireland and Britain.

“Our priority in the coming days will be to mitigate as much as we can by trying to secure as much additional capacity as possible throughout our Irish Sea network.

“High levels of pre-Christmas bookings have made this a very challenging operation, but we are working around the clock to examine every conceivable opportunity.”

While there is no confirmed date for when the port will reopen, a port spokesperson said: “This process is still ongoing, and we will provide an update as soon as we are able to.”

Holyhead Port handles over two million passengers each year, but the closures have caused a severe impact on trade and on both port passengers and customers.

The port is now looking at extra ways to provide additional capacity during the busy season while prioritising staff, contractors and customers. The spokesperson added: “We will only permit ferry services to recommence once we are sure it is safe to do so.”