Calls for Irish Ferries and Stena Line to sing off same hymn sheet
ROSSLARE GM CALLS FOR OPERATORS TO FINALLY USE THE SAME WELSH PORT FOR UK ROUTE
GENERAL Manager of Rosslare Europort Glenn Carr believes it’s time that Irish Ferries and Stena Line sat down and agreed to operate their crossings from Rosslare to Wales out of the same port.
Traffic on board Irish Ferries crossing to Pembroke and Stena Line’s crossing to Fishguard are said to have fallen off a cliff since the turn of the year. Ships have been crossing the Irish Sea with as few as four trucks on board, something which is completely unsustainable in the long term.
While Stena Line dropped 50% of its sailings on the route and furloughed in the region of 30 staff until things pick up, Irish Ferries are continuing to sail twice daily to Pembroke. Stena’s ownership of the port of Fishguard means they are committed (for now) to maintaining the route.
Mr Carr believes that things will bounce back on the UK routes, however, he believes that now might be the time for both operators to sing off the same hymn sheet.
‘I think our UK routes will bounce back,’ he said.
‘I actually believe they will become more popular, giving the opportunity to avoid congestion at Dublin Port. We still have three out of four services per day running to the UK. This isn’t anything to do with the port or the operators. I think a lot of it is to do with customs issued and, while goods are moving quite freely from Ireland to the UK, things are not being cleared as fast to come in from the UK. I think a big part of the reason for this is that UK companies were completely unprepared and are struggling to integrate with new systems that they’ve been told about for the past couple of years. Having said that, there are challenges on this side too. It’s a new system for everyone, but I fully expect things will bed down soon.’
One thing that Mr Carr would like to see though, is both Stena Line and Irish Ferries ships headed for the same port. With Stena Line owning Fishguard, it would appear to be in pole position. The operators have managed to work out a deal that has seen both use the Stena owned port of Holyhead, and Mr Carr would like to see a similar situation with Fishguard.
‘What we constantly see is a huge demand for frequency,’ he explained.
‘Currently, if a driver misses the boat in Pembroke, he’s left waiting around all day. If both operators used the same port, it would increase frequency, which would be great for customers. I think both companies should sit down with the port authority and discuss it. It would also allow for significant investment in one of the Welsh ports, rather than dividing money between the two.’