Rosyth freight ferry service closed after operators ‘lost hope’

The freight ferry service from the port of Rosyth to Zeebrugge has been closed after its operators said they had “lost all hope” of being able turn around the loss-making route.

The demise of the crossing was hastened by a fire which broke out onboard the Finlandia Seaways freight ship last week.

The blaze, which left one crew member injured, will put the vessel out of operation for several months. In the wake of the incident, DFDS Seaways, one of Europe’s largest shipping and logistics firms, said it had no option but to end the service altogether.

“We are extremely sorry for the effect this has on our customers and partners in Scotland and Belgium,” said its senior president, Kell Robdrup. “In co-operation with the Scottish Government and the port, we have tried everything in our power to save the route. This included going from a combined passenger and cargo ship to a freight ship, reducing costs by enabling double stacking of containers and reducing fuel costs by installing a scrubber to remove sulphur from the exhaust gas instead of using expensive, low-sulphur fuel.

“However, the route continued to make losses. And with the new situation with the ship out of service for months, the market, the customers and the financial situation will be negatively affected, and make a turnaround and a reopening unrealistic.”

The route began as a combined freight and passenger ferry service in 2002, but became freight-only crossing in 2010 after DFDS cited insufficient passenger demand.

Its full closure was quickened by last Monday’s fire in the engine room of the Finlandia Seaways ro-ro ship. The injured crew member was airlifted to hospital where he is being treated for injuries caused by smoke inhalation. A subsequent inspection identified “substantial damage” to the vessel.

Charles Hammond, group chief executive of Forth Ports, which owns and operates the Rosyth port, said he was “very disappointed” but admitted the service had faced “a number of challenges.”

He added that Scotland remained “well connected” with continental Europe via Grangemouth, the nation’s largest container terminal, and that it would “work hard” to ensure as many Rosyth customers as possible could be accommodated there.