Rosslare’s ferry service ‘offers a solution to Brexit’ sets sail

A new direct ferry service from Rosslare to Dunkirk set sail for the first time on Saturday afternoon.

For Pedro Ferreira it was a relief.

After enduring long waits on the UK land bridge in recent weeks, the Spanish carrier welcomed the new direct route to the continent.

“We always use [the] Landbridge, ”he said. But Dover was a nightmare: six or eight miles of lines, no bathrooms. You could be stuck for six to ten hours on the side of the road and there is nothing you can do about it. “

Danish shipping company DFDS launched the route to Dunkirk in northern France with Brexit in mind, allowing carriers to avoid congestion and paperwork on the land bridge starting Saturday. The first ship carried nearly 100 trucks and trailers to Dunkirk, and the service will operate six days a week. A second DFDS ferry would leave Rosslare later on Saturday.

Ferreira carried a “mix of everything” for Mooney Transport, while alongside him, John Carroll brought pharmaceuticals for DG McArdle. Both had their trucks draped in Irish, French and EU flags and would have often used Dublin Port before now.

Carroll, who was heading to the Netherlands after Dunkirk, was exasperated by the conditions that drivers were facing as they traversed the UK of late: “You were leaving the ship on a Tuesday night and all you saw were miles and miles of traffic. And there are no facilities of any description. “

“Anything is better than sitting in line,” agreed Ray Johnson. The Belfast man was coming from Dublin and said early promises to serve drivers faded, meaning they now need direct routes to the mainland. “They caught me sitting up to three days before. We were the front-line workers for a day or two, but after that they didn’t care. “

Less hassle

It was the first time Tom Birmingham had used Rosslare Europort, and the Dubliner always used the capital’s port. “This is less complicated for the driver. I’m heading to Germany and then the Netherlands and this will leave us with more hours of driving when we go down. It’s going to be good. “

DFDS led the way in the belief that the land bridge would be “clogged” once the Brexit deadline passed. Brexit “sped up” plans for the route, said Darren Mooney, DFDS commercial director, who was beaming to see trucks queuing for the first ship.

“A whole year has been put into this and it’s brilliant to see it all manifested here at Rosslare,” he said.

The company believes that the route will be popular as it will allow direct access to northern and central Europe.

“It’s tremendously exciting to see this,” said Glenn Carr, manager of Rosslare Europort. “Overall today, we will move more cargo on this day alone through the port of Rosslare to continental Europe than during the entire week one in 2020.”

With Stena Line also adding a ship to its current service, one that leaves on Saturday, it means there will be 15 crossings to the mainland each week, plus 15 return trips. Carr said it represented nearly tripling routes for drivers.

“It shows the change that is happening away from the land bridge. The three services coming out today are a testament to the interest and capacity out there. All three are complete. “

Strong demand

The American company Amazon had tried to reserve the entire ship, but was turned down to accommodate others. In the end, they were given more than 10 percent space. DFDS declined to comment.

Declan Cleary, the company’s sales manager, said there had been strong demand for the route, demonstrated by DFDS starting with three ships.

His speech to transport companies had been to give them “for the first time a solution to Brexit,” he says.

“Now there is a port to focus on outside of Dublin. This driving distance to Rosslare is well worth it because they avoid the additional costs and delays that they would experience when crossing the UK. “

The small management team burst into applause after the departing ship sounded its horn.

It was a case of history that was repeated for Cleary, who remained practically in the same place watching the first cargo ship sail from Rosslare to Cherbourg. “I think I still have a photo of trucks heading to the ferry from that day somewhere in my attic.”