Stena cancel Fishguard sailings amid Brexit and Covid-19 chaos
WHILE ferries packed with trucks and freight have been busily making their way directly to the continent from Rosslare Europort over the past couple of weeks, a combination of Brexit and ongoing Covid travel restrictions has resulted in Stena Line cutting the number of sailings from Rosslare to Fishguard over the past week.
In a statement, the ferry operator said: ‘Stena Line is currently reviewing sailings and schedules on Irish Sea routes, as a result of travel restrictions and the decline in freight volumes during the first week of Brexit. Problems in the supply chain have resulted in a significant fall in freight numbers this week at our Fishguard and Holyhead Ports.’
‘Our business mode is predominantly based on the freight and passenger combination – to have the two parts restricted at the same time is putting pressure on our ability to maintain the normal level of frequency on certain routes. For that reason we have reduced some sailings on a temporary basis. Capacity can be reinstated quickly as demand picks up; in the meantime, we need to be efficient in how we manage our schedules.’
Independent TD Verona Murphy says that administrative issues around trucks gaining customs clearance for travel between the UK and Ireland is causing major delays and that, despite sufficient warnings, the customs service is ‘understaffed and under-prepared’.
‘We are an island nation that needs to export and import goods,’ she said. ‘ The Irish government have known about Brexit for almost five years, yet still have not put a streamlined customs system in place. There are simply not enough people employed to do the work, while those doing the work don’t appear to have the time or the knowledge base to do it quickly.’
Deputy Murphy noted that in Northern Ireland it’s taking six minutes to complete a customs declaration to ship goods to Great Britain. It’s taking the equivalent of four hours to complete the same procedure in Ireland. Delays in receiving clearance, she says, is causing chaos.
‘Stena Line have cancelled sailings on the Rosslare-Fishguard route stating its “due to lack of freight” all because the transport companies cannot get clearance to ship their goods. This is a very concerning development,’ Deputy Murphy said.
‘I’m not in the habit of scaremongering, but if this situation continues, we will see supermarket shelves empty rapidly while the Department of Transport fail to understand the problem. We also need to safeguard our ferries to the UK.’
‘ There are Wexford lorries parked up for the last three days with loads that will now go to waste, Wexford businesses that will lose hundreds of thousands and Wexford businesses at risk of going bust,’ she continued. ‘Flour will disappear from our shelves; fresh fruit and veg shelves will be bare this weekend. I cannot communicate loudly enough how shambolic the situation is at present. This was forewarned at every opportunity and nothing was done to prepare adequately.’