Setting sail: the Brexit boat that avoids the UK
Demand for routes that will bypass tariffs and checkpoints
THEY’RE calling it the ‘Brexit boat’: a new 55,000-tonne ferry running from Dublin to France that allows hauliers to bypass the UK as our nearest neighbour sets a course away from the EU.
And Irish long-distance lorry drivers say Irish producers and exporters have never been so well connected to mainland Europe.
They say that with the UK due to leave the EU in 2019, logistics operators are looking at how they can make operations easier after Britain’s exit.
The introduction of the new Irish Ferries ship the WB Yeats, the largest cruise ferry to operate in the Irish Sea, is part of a wider trend to hike up capacity on direct routes where potential tariffs and customs delays after Brexit can be avoided. It will run on four weekly sailings between Dublin and France.
The largest roll-on, roll-off ferry, the 234m freight-only ship Celine, recently started operating from Dublin Port to Zeebrugge in Belgium. This week, Brittany Ferries announced a new route between Ireland and northern Spain. The service, linking Cork and Santander, will start at the end of April and make two return trips a week.
For Irish lorry drivers, there is demand for such services.
Tom Joyce, who drives shellfish from Connemara to the markets of Paris every week, says the introduction of the direct Dublin-France service during the summer months, is a huge boost.
‘At the moment, 80% of the Irish road freight bound for mainland Europe passes through the UK,’ he says. ‘It takes just 12 hours to landbridge the UK, that is to drive through the UK and go on to Calais. That fast timeframe is vital transporting perishable goods. But if we’re looking at customs posts at each port, plus paying tariffs to the UK government, it’s looking less and less attractive. In that scenario, an 18-hour trip direct from Ireland to France is a no-brainer.
‘We’re already calling the new ship, “the Brexit boat” and there’s more like it coming.’
‘Ireland is reliant on that accessibility to the UK, more than any other country in Europe,’ said Aidan Flynn, of Freight Transport Association. Meanwhile, Verona Murphy, of the Irish Road Hauliers Association, says Ireland will need more direct services to Europe after Brexit. ‘No one has any idea what Brexit is going to be like but common sense says that if it happens, there will be checks and tariffs. Avoiding these will always be the best option,’ she said.
Eamon O’Reilly, CEO of Dublin Port, said the port had seen growth in routes between Ireland and continental Europe in recent years.