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Issue 2 2015 - Freight Business Journal


Stena Line’s Superfast X ferry entered into


service on the


Dublin-Holyhead route in March aſter a major refit in a Polish shipyard. DFDS was previously operating the vessel on the English Channel.


Precision surgery for Stena schedules Irish Ferries’


She is “a stronger ship” than


the Stena Nordica she replaced and and offers a more balanced service on the route alongside the Stena Adventurer, says Richard Horswill, head of freight for UK and Ireland.


The upgrade is part of a


consolidation of ferry services in Dublin following Stena’s decision to end high-speed passenger service from Dun Laoghaire. The company said it was no longer sustainable to operate from two


facilities 10 miles apart. Horswill says the restructuring


benefits freight customers since Superfast X offers 2,000 lane metres of vehicle capacity and can also accommodate 4.65 metre high trailers. There is no major change to


investment pays off


Ro-ro traffic between Ireland, the UK and Europe was up 3% last year, but the picture was uneven, with the central corridor to and from the Irish Republic seeing a 7% increase and the southern corridor a 5% improvement, while Northern Ireland was flat. Irish


Ferries has outpaced


the market, growing at the 20% level it needed to recoup its investment in new capacity, according to Eugene Carron, freight manager. The arrival of the Epsilon


towards the end of 2013 increased Irish Ferries’ overall freight capacity by some 30%. The new


vessel operates alongside the Ulysses for 4½ days per week, giving shippers a third, mid- aſternoon departure from Dublin to Holyhead – “We’re selling it as a premium, time-sensitive service,” Carron says - as well as running weekly to Cherbourg. “She leaves Dublin for


Cherbourg on Saturday, the prime export day. It’s a 17-hour sailing time so the driver arrives rested,” he explains. The Sunday trucking ban in France does not apply to refrigerated goods, which make up a large part of export traffic. Dry goods mostly travel unaccompanied.


At the end of February, Irish


Ferries reinstated its seasonal service from Rosslare to Roscoff and Cherbourg. The Oscar Wilde accommodates up to 170 trailers and the route offers reasonably balanced traffic of meat exports and general imports, but the Rosslare schedule is more passenger-oriented. “Dublin is where the freight is,” Carron says. He adds: “The strong pound has been a stimulus to exports from Ireland, giving us the first growth we’ve seen in a while. We hope to repeat last year’s increase in 2015 in line with the economic growth of the country.”


New MD for Irish Ferries


Irish Continental Group has appointed Andrew Sheen (below left) as managing director of its Irish Ferries division. He has been operations director since 2012 and


involved in shipping for over twenty-six years, ten of them with Irish Ferries. The group also has a new chief financial


officer, David Ledwidge (right). He has held various financial positions and, in 2013, he was appointed Irish Ferries finance director.


departure schedules from Ireland except that the Adventurer now leaves Dublin 10 minutes later at 20:40. “This is at the request of freight customers. It relates to the replenishment cycle British retailers have, and you wouldn’t believe how crucial another 10 minutes is,” Horswill says. The service arrives at midnight,


giving hauliers maximum benefit from their daily vignette payment and extending their


reach into the UK. In April 2014 Stena took over


former Celtic Link service from Rosslare to Cherbourg. “We made a slow start to the summer but there was a real pick-up in the weeks before Christmas. We’re satisfied with the mix and quality of traffic and we’ve gone from strength to strength this year,” Horswill comments. The Stena Horizon, which plies


the route three times a week, has been fitted with dual fuel tanks to meet the requirements of the North European Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA). The new regulations restricting


the sulphur content of fuel will not apply to Irish Sea operators for another five years, but as of 1


///IRELAND


January, services to France must operate under the new controls from the point where they enter the English Channel. Ro-ro operators originally


estimated that their freight rates would have to go up by around 15% on routes entirely within the SECA area, but last year’s fall in oil prices changed the equation, Horswill comments. “We consolidated the BAF


into the main rate when we introduced the SECA surcharge but the fall in the price of regular oil has neutralised the additional cost of marine gas oil.” With prices already nudging


back higher, the impact of SECA over time remains to be seen, he says.


Ireland bound


In late February, Stena’s new Superfast X ferry for its Holyhead to Dublin route left the Polish shipyard in Gdynia where she was being prepared for her launch on the service. With ten decks, the Stena Superfast offers almost two kilometres of lane space for freight traffic and other vehicles and can also take 4.65m high trailers. She is a sister ship to the Stena Superfast VII and VIII introduced on the Cairnryan to Belfast route in 2011. The Stena Superfast X will make two


return sailings daily between Holyhead and Dublin, completing the crossing in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Operating alongside


the Stena Adventurer, there will be up to 28 return sailings per week all year round on the route.


Stena pulls Irish fast craſt


Stena Line is withdrawing its HSS Stena Explorer fast craft service from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire and will in future concentrate its resources on the service to the main port of Dublin. It has operated the HSS Stena Explorer into Dun Laoghaire since 1995. Although the vessel has capacity for large trucks, freight carryings have latterly been minimal with the switch to a seasonal operation. Stena said that the withdrawal of duty free


shopping had now led to a dramatic decline in passenger and car traffic, making the route unsustainable. Route manager for Irish Sea South, Ian Davies said: “With two services operating ten


miles apart we needed to make a decision in relation to what operation best serves the needs of our customers now and in the years ahead, and that operation is Dublin Port.” He added: “While we have enjoyed a very


professional working relationship with Dun Laoghaire Harbour over many years, the economic realities of the current situation in relation to our business levels have left us with no choice but to close the service. Dublin continues to grow in importance, not only as the core freight port for Ireland but also as the key tourism gateway into Ireland.” Stena Line recently introduced a new


conventional vessel, the Superfast X on the Dublin service.


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