HANSA 01-2019

Schifffahrt | Shipping
increase in container traffic overall
last year.
»With the current Brexit uncertainty,
we believe that our spread of
dedicated short sea services can offer
robust options for companies wanting
to de-risk their supply chain in
preparing for Brexit,« said Samskip
UK & Ireland Regional Director,
Richard Beales.
Teesport belonging to PD Ports has
begun receiving new Unifeeder direct
routes to and from Antwerp and
Dunkerque, as well as enhanced intermodal
links to Scotland with addition
of a second daily rail service.
»Short sea services are the lifeblood
of our ports and this partnership
with Unifeeder offers more
routes in and out of Europe and into
the UK,« comments PD Ports general
manager Kim Catterick.
Teesport’s improved rail links to
Scotland follow DFDS’s decision to
terminate its Rosyth-Zeebrugge service
last April. P&O Ferries responded
by increasing freight capacity by
25% on its Zeebrugge-Teesport sailings,
which now interconnect with
the improved Scottish rail service.
Rising truck traffic between eastern
Europe and the UK has been
boosting P&O’s freight-only Zeebrugge-Teesport
service, which also
picked up some cargoes diverted
from French channel ports because
of industrial action and illegal migrant
activity there in recent years,
and could do so again in the event of
post-Brexit border delays.
»Customers want direct access
and guaranteed schedules,« says PD
Ports’ Catterick, which has led to »an
increasing demand to move away
from the congestion at some of the
major European and UK ports.«ED
The landbridge: Ireland looks to protect intra-EU trade
The prospect of increased border
checks after Brexit threatens to disrupt
not only trade at Channel RoRo
ports but also Irish traffic using the
»UK landbridge« route to mainland
Europe, which will need to cross not
one but two EU-UK frontiers leads to
a reconsideration of transport options.
According to a latest report by the
Irish Maritime Development Office
»Celine«, the world’s largest shortsea RoRo ship,
on service between Dublin and Europe
3 mill. t of Irish traffic passes via the landbridge each year, roughly 2:1 exports/
imports, representing 38% of Ireland’s total trade with EU. The value of goods was
€ 21 bn in 2016, of which 84% passed through Dublin – most of it using the shortest
sea crossing to Holyhead in Wales and then by motorway to Dover – the remainder
via Rosslare. Journey times to continental Europe are currently less than 20 hours
via the landbridge, compared to up to 40/60 hours on direct RoRo/LoLo services.
The savings are of particular importance to perishable cargoes such as Ireland’s
dairy and seafood exports.
Hence Ireland’s economy is »significantly reliant« on the landbridge and certain
sectors will be »adversely affected by any deterioration in transit times or increases
in costs,« concludes the report. It recommends the Irish government seek a
post-Brexit solution »as close as possible to the status quo«, seeking extra EU funds
to support continued use of the landbridge if necessary. However, the European
Commission has proposed redrawing its North Sea-Mediterranean transport
corridor to exclude the UK post-Brexit, instead introducing direct short sea connections
between the ports of Dublin/Cork and Zeebrugge/Antwerp/Rotterdam.
Shipping lines themselves are also laying plans to increase the number and capacity
of direct sailings between Ireland and continental EU ports. Short sea and RoRo
specialist CLdN of Luxembourg introduced its 235 m newbuilding »Celine« on
direct freight service between Dublin and continental Europe in early 2018.
Irish Ferries still awaits delivery from Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) of
its new, larger RoPax »W.B. Yeats«, which is intended for Dublin-Holyhead service
but will allowing other vessels to cascade down and increase capacity on direct
routes to France. However, in the event of a »no-deal« Brexit it is thought the new
vessel might be deployed on direct Ireland–France service instead.
In addition, Irish Ferries has a freight-only sister company, Eucon, that operates
direct LoLo container services linking Dublin, Cork and Belfast with Rotterdam
and Antwerp – which will be alert to capturing unaccompanied box traffic defecting
from the landbridge.
BG Freight Line, X-Press Containers Lines (Doyle Shipping), Grimaldi and Brittany
Ferries also operate Ireland-Continent sailings, while P&O, Stena and Seatruck
Ferries run services across the Irish Sea.
ED
© Port of Dover
© Port of Dublin
HANSA International Maritime Journal – 156. Jahrgang – 2019 – Nr. 1 43