In 2021, the Irish Port of Rosslare will offer 2 daily services between Ireland and France for 6 days a week, as well as 2 weekly sailings to and from Bilbao.
DFDS will sail between Rosslare and Dunkirk, while Stena Line will offer a Rosslare-Cherbourg service. The ferries between Rosslare and Bilbao will be operated by Brittany Ferries.
— RosslareEuroport #StaySafe #HoldFirm (@Rosslareuroport) December 30, 2020
Demand for the new services is high as Irish hauliers are keen to avoid potential disruption on the UK landbridge route. Stena Line has confirmed that the first sailing to Cherbourg after the UK’s departure from the EU Single Market is sold out.
And so it begins… our first sailing after Brexit, on Saturday 2nd Jan is SOLD OUT. The Stena Horizon will be jampacked with over 50 truck drivers with their loads & a boatload (literally) of freight; all destined for the shortest direct route to France. https://t.co/UJKkQHQTzs pic.twitter.com/O2rwsINlCq
— Stena Line Group (@StenaLine) December 30, 2020
According to the Irish Times, the first DFDS services between Rosslare and Dunkirk are also over-subscribed.
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, has urged businesses to use direct ferries to and from mainland Europe “for the foreseeable future” for the “certainty” of avoiding traffic congestion at British ports due to the extra customs checks Brexit entails.
Photo credit: David Dixon / Geograph Ireland