More direct ferry services are being launched between Ireland and mainland Europe to meet growing demand from companies looking to avoid Brexit controls with Britain.
Brittany Ferries unveiled three new weekly boat trips between the Irish ports of Rosslare, Cork, Roscoff and Saint-Malo in northern France as traders seek more capacity on direct routes.
The new cargo-only voyages will see three new departures per week from Ireland with the ferry departing from Cork to Roscoff on Tuesday, returning to Rössler on Thursday before departing that night for St Malo and returning to Cork before departing again for Roscoff on Tuesday. Saturday.
Navigation
There are two new trips between Cork and Roscoff, starting on Saturday, and a new trip between Rössler and Saint-Malo, starting on Thursday.
Shipping operations are billed as a post-Brexit trade rule introduced on January 1 that prohibits Irish and mainland European carriers from using the ‘land bridge’ in the UK due to increased customs checks and paperwork. More than 150,000 trucks use this highway each year.
The duration of the new direct services is around 18 hours, which is longer than the time of the land bridge route, but there are no border controls such as shipments within the European Union.
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The company’s Cork-Roscoff service was expected to go online in late March, but the service was introduced due to increased demand after Brexit.
The new trips will operate until the end of March, when scheduled passenger and cargo services between Cork and Ruskov resume with two trips a week in each direction, double the frequency of service this year.
Britain’s exit from the European Union has clearly distorted trade flows between France and Ireland. “There is now clear and compelling demand both in Britain and abroad to boost direct shipping capacity from the region to Ireland,” said Hugh Broughton, Managing Director of Brittany Ferries Ireland.
Links
Irish traders are also looking to establish direct links with western France. We are always listening to our transport customers to better meet their needs and we look forward to restarting Brittany Ireland services two months ahead of schedule. “
The company’s new cruises are in addition to the Rosslare-Cherbourg round-trip weekly service that was introduced in mid-January. The company already operates two return flights a week between Rössler and Bilbao in the north of Spain.
The new routes bring the number of weekly cruises to the company to eight each way between Ireland and France, and a total of 12 weekly sailings linking Ireland with France and Spain.
Connor Molds, Cork Port’s commercial director, said that only two new cargo services from Cork to Saint Malo and Roscoff would provide transportation options for importers and exporters looking to “carry their loads directly to the European Union and avoid the Kingdom’s land bridge. United”.
He said the services would provide “more flexibility to Irish customers, ensuring that supply chains are maintained.”
Load
The new services bring the number of direct trips to and from Rössler and Europe to 32 as the southeastern port benefits from record shipping levels as companies seek to secure supply lines and avoid post-Brexit border controls and border controls with Great Britain.
Glenn Carr, general manager of Rosslare Europort, owned by Iarnród Eireann, said the new navigation would give “more choice and capacity” alongside existing Brittany Ferries services from Rosslare to Bilbao and Cherbourg.
The launch of the route to and from Saint Malo responds particularly to requests from traders looking to ship agricultural products and fish feed between Ireland and Northern France.
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