The Fastnet line, which has operated a ferry service between Cork and Swansea since 2010, has been placed into interim examinership.
The route, which has received €700,000 in funding from Cork City, Cork County and Kerry County Councils, is considered a critical access route for tourists to the south west.
In a statement this afternoon, the company, which is a subsidiary of the West Cork Tourism Co-operative Society, say they are committed to the long term future of the service but say its finances have been severely hampered by the continuing increase in world oil prices.
The company apologised to its customers for giving them short notice of their withdrawal of the service.
They hope to re-commence it on 6 April 2012 until 29 September 2012, as part of a restructured business plan. Under the new schedule, the ferry would not operate between October and March.
Some 150,000 customers have used the ferry - 75% of them with UK postal address, since the service resumed in March 2010 after the co-operative raised some €3m to fund it.
The co-operative has some 400 shareholders.
The business currently employs seven full-time shore employees based in Cork and 53 full-time contracted staff on board the MV Julia.
In a separate statement issued by the three local authorities, they confirmed they will provide €150,000 in co-funding for the period of the examinership.
