IRELAND\\\


There’s no escaping the fact that Ireland is a small shipping market. The combined throughput of all southern Ireland’s container ports is no more than about 1.5m teu a year, which would do no more than fi ll a few quays in Rotterdam. And while traffi c has been growing strongly, it is from quite a small base. One port’s gain is liable to be another’s loss, and a port that does well in one year may fi nd itself retrenching in the next; there are only so many boxes and ships to go round. As Frank Ronan, chief executive


at the port of Waterford says, “it’s a bit of a Lanigan’s Ball situation”, with yesterday’s gains largely outweighed by today’s losses, or vice-versa. Waterford’s container traffi c though


is growing reasonably


strongly, at 5-10% and ahead of the national average, he says. The port’s long-standing customer is the twice-weekly DFDS/Samskip service to and from Rotterdam, which also serves Dublin and Cork. In mid-2019, Waterford also


added a regular BG Line service to Rotterdam, primarily to feed Maersk Line vessels at the Dutch hub and expected to appeal


Issue 1 2020 - FBJ Ireland


Waterford seeks more box business


especially to Irish agri-food exporters and also to customers shipping containers to/from Africa, Asia and the Americas via Rotterdam. In days past, Waterford was a


major Irish container hub, being the centre of operations for Bell Line before that operation’s demise. As well as regular container shipping services to and from Europe, there was also an extensive rail


system serving the whole


of Ireland. Present day annual container traffi c is a relatively modest 44,000teu compared with 173,000teu in 2008, although bulk business has held up well at around 1.7m tonnes a year. All the infrastructure still


exists, and one of Frank Ronan’s ambitions is to get a rail link reinstated. Post Bell Lines, there was a DFDS-chartered twice- weekly service between Waterford and Ballina in the west of Ireland, and there remains a regular Dublin/ Ballina link, but the Waterford link has since been axed and the port’s container terminals are train-less once again. “I think there is potential, and we


remain hopeful,” says Ronan. Bulk traffi cs through Waterford


Belfast welcomes Stena Edda


Stena Line’s latest ferry,


Stena Edda sailed into Belfast Harbour on 26 February ahead of final trials before going into service on the Liverpool route in the coming weeks. Welcomed by a flotilla


of boats, she took part in successful


berthing trials at


Belfast Harbour’s VT2 Terminal. A new access ramp has been specially built to accommodate


the ferry, which offers 40% more deck capacity and 30% higher fuel efficiency than current vessels on the route, including 3,100 lane metres of freight. Stena Edda is part of a nine-


figure investment by Stena Line in three new vessels and port upgrades, and will be the first of two new ferries that will run on the Belfast to Liverpool route.


remain strong, close to record levels, much of it inputs for the dairy industry. Powdered milk exports are the region’s main export, some, though by no means all of it passing through Waterford. Irish nutrition group Glanbia has a large factory in


the vicinity. Investment in the bulk side


of the operation including new warehousing and a new crane has continued through 2019. Waterford has, for the fi rst time,


produced a masterplan which has generated quite a lot of interest locally, Ronan adds. It maps out how the port could develop over the next 25 years and is, he


suggests, “modest but practical”. Among other things, it envisages deepening and widening channels from the current 9m draſt to 9.5 or 10m, along with quay expansion, possibly in 2029 or 2037 depending on the growth scenario. However, as the plan itself notes,


the port “is currently operating well within its capacity” so there is no urgency about any of the plans for expansion,


7


desirable if ship sizes increase signifi cantly. The plan also notes that, just as


although raising


the port’s ability to handle larger vessels than at present might be


Waterford’s lo lo traffi c contracted sharply in the face of recession in Ireland, it has the potential to bounce back equally strongly, and it is essential to have contingency plans in place in case such a pick- up takes place. As Ronan says, “we are currently growing faster than the market, but I would like to see a step change in Waterford’s performance.”


“YOUR NEW IRISH PARTNER” Toga Freight, Ireland’s award winning &


longest established UK to Ireland groupage operator seeks additional Partners


If you ship goods to Ireland, either direct or via an existing partner or network - we would like to speak to you about working with us for mutual benefit. Toga loads up to 20 groupage trailers daily in the UK for Ireland and offers first class delivery in all 32 counties of Ireland, courtesy of our own “Private


Delivery Network” based around 15 partner depots operating over 300 trucks and vans. We also have daily collections from most areas in the UK.


We are also Ireland’s largest customs clearance agent, processing more customs entries annually than any other Irish forwarder, and we have bespoke “Brexit Solutions” in place now, so working with us gives you an advantage over your competitors.


PLEASE GET IN TOUCH TODAY IN THE STRICTEST CONFIDENCE: (e) Robert@TogaFreight.com (t) +353 1 630 4255


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36