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6


Issue 1 2021 - FBJ Ireland


///IRELAND


northern Spain. The extra sailings will operate


With growing problems at UK ports, more truckers to and from Ireland are opting for the direct continental services, says Brittany Ferries freight director, Simon Wagstaff. Speaking in early February, he


said that while there were several reasons for this, including the Covid crisis, the biggest driver was Brexit and the need for customs clearance at ports in Great Britain. “Brexit has significantly increased demand and the port of Rosslare’s own figures suggest that continental traffic, across all operators, is up 45%. I can well imagine that Irish hauliers are finding it more convenient to avoid the UK at the moment.” At the beginning of 2021,


Brittany Ferries brought forward the opening of a Rosslare Cherbourg connection, adding the route to the schedule of its existing twice-weekly Rosslare-Bilbao rotation. The service will remain in operation until at least the end of summer, and could well be extended beyond that date if the demand is there, says Wagstaff –


though with one eye on the stormy winter weather in the Bay of Biscay. Brittany has also opened further


freight routes between Ireland and France, connecting Roscoff and St Malo in Brittany with Cork and Rosslare in Ireland, starting in early February using the ro-pax vessel Armorique. The introduction of a Cork


freight service makes Brittany a major presence in the that port once again as what was originally a Cork-Santander service launched in 2018 became the Rosslare/ Bilbao route about a year ago. However, Brittany has had a major operational base in Cork for decades. “Also, the port of Rosslare has become very busy so it has become quite difficult to schedule services into Rosslare, so Cork fits in with our plans very well,” Wagstaff told FBJ. Port of Cork chief commercial


officer, Conor Mowlds, said: “The decision by Brittany Ferries to operate two freight only services from Cork to St Malo and Roscoff is hugely positive. Importers and exporters now have further


Celtic Shipping sees Brexit boom


Brexit could be an unexpected bonus for Celtic Shipping Agencies, says operations director David Lee. Trade car traffic is a major business for the Dublin-based company, both for manufacturers and local dealers. However, the car trade in Ireland was traditionally limited by the fact that many Irish purchasers preferred to hop over to the UK to buy their vehicles there, taking advantage of oſten lower prices and wider choice. Brexit though is likely to put


a stop to much of the personal trade. Private buyers will in future have to contend with customs clearance and paying VAT and possibly duty on returning to Ireland with their new wheels, so that could give a boost to the car dealers and, in turn, Celtic’s


business. Cars can be imported into Ireland on the regular ro ro services operated by CLdN or the KESS service from Zeebrugge. Meanwhile, Lee says that the


car trade held up reasonably well during the earlier stages of the Covid pandemic before going quiet on Mid-May and June, when many dealerships closed their doors to the public. However, Celtic has been able


to keep busy with its project work, which has held up well. (See Project and Heavyliſt report on pXX of this issue.) Celtic Shipping Agencies has


maintained its operations with staff working from home, although David Lee for one is keen to see a resumption of normal office life, as soon as the Irish government decrees that it safe to do so.


transport options to get their freight direct to the EU and bypass the UK landbridge. This announcement comes in the same month as we announced a second freight service from Cork to Zeebrugge. These direct freight services from Cork to the EU strengthen the region by offering more flexibility to Irish customers, ensuring supply chains are maintained.


problematical since new post- Brexit trade rules were introduced on 1 January due to increased customs checks and paperwork. General manager, Brittany


Ferries Ireland, Hugh Bruton, commented: “It’s clear that Brexit has distorted flows


of trade


between France and Ireland, there’s now clear and compelling demand both in Brittany and


initially until 21 March when regular Roscoff/Cork sailings are scheduled to resume. At the moment, Brittany Ferries


has no plans to extend the range of Irish ports any further – some other operators have also started services between Dublin and the Continent. “I would never say never, but at the moment we’ve no plans to spread our net any wider,” says Wagstaff. With Continent/Ireland


service going through a boom at the moment, the question all operators must ask themselves is: ‘Will it last?’ Much of the growth is being driven by the post-Brexit customs difficulties in GB ports, and it is possible that things will settle down again as the trade gets to grips with the new customs requirements. On the other hand, customs


Our relationship with Brittany


Ferries spans over 40 years and it continues to go from strength to strength. We wish them every success with this freight service.” Brittany’s new sailings are in


response to demands from both Irish and French hauliers seeking a more direct route, avoiding transit via the UK which has become


beyond to boost freight capacity direct from the region to Ireland, and Irish traders too are seeking direct links to Western France.” Together with the extra weekly


Rosslare to Cherbourg round trip, Brittany Ferries will offer hauliers a choice of eight sailings a week in each direction between Ireland and France, plus four to or from


controls via GB could get even tighter in the summer, when the UK is set to introduce full customs controls on imports from the Continent. There are though other


pressures in favour of the direct sailings. It’s generally accepted that carrying trucks or trailers by sea is greener and cleaner


Precise approach pays off for IFS


Irish Freight Solutions (IFS) says it has taken a fresh approach to the Irish freight market since the business was set up by managing director James Wood nearly two years ago. Having worked for major players


such as Montgomery Transport and Gwynedd Shipping for the last 10 years, he saw that freight operators tended to treat the island of Ireland as a single geographical unit with Dublin, Rosslare and Belfast being the three main points of entry from the UK, irrespective of where the final delivery point might be. Irish Freight Solutions’ approach


is to look at the customers’ delivery patterns on the island of Ireland first and then chooses partners based in Ireland or Northern Ireland to provide high quality, cost effective targeted storage and


delivery services. “This experience and local operational knowledge of Irish operators has been particularly valuable in the run up to Brexit and beyond,” he says. He cites a UK-based customer


that was able to move from a groupage style service to a full load operation going direct to an IFS partner operator in Dublin which then organises deliveries to multiple sites across Ireland. Wood states: “This approach is


a win-win for the operator and the customer with shorter lead times for stock into Irish retailers. The added bonus for the customer is that the freight is handled less oſten, reducing the risk of damage or loss. The operator has more control of the freight, can earn more money from the full load operation and IFS is seen to be adding value to the customer’s supply chain.”


He believes that lack of


communication between customers and their operators was responsible for the problems currently being experienced once the Brexit deadline was reached on 31 December. Late government information did not help either, but the IFS team and its partners put a lot of effort in during 2020 in order to be Brexit-ready. Actions included advising


customers on how to complete the customs documents, working with a dedicated customs clearance agent for customers that are AEO accredited and implementing a real time transport management system to locate transport assets so that advanced planning could take into account any border issues. Wood concludes: “At IFS, we


felt that it was important to have a very practical approach, to work


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than having them travel under their own power and this is a major consideration for many companies now. The ships themselves are also


set to become cleaner. Brittany Ferries is due to put the first of two LNG-powered vessels into service in March 2022, on Portsmouth/ Bilbao. There are no firm plans yet to add LNG-powered ships to any of the Irish routes, says Wagstaff, but this could come about in the slightly longer term. Another LNG vessel, the Santoña, also LNG- powered is due to join the Brittany Ferries fleet in 2023, which would make it one of the first major operators of such vessels in British waters.


hauliers


A growing number of are


shipping trailers


unaccompanied, particularly on the longer western Channel routes and between Ireland and Spain, adds Wagstaff. This effect is less pronounced on the new Rosslare Cherbourg route, possibly because it is currently being used mainly by operators that until recently landbridged via the UK, which tends to favour driver- accompanied operation. But there is very chance that hauliers will adapt their operations in future, Wagstaff concludes.


with our customers to understand the new processes involved and how they impacted on them. Where these new processes have led to potential delays in freight moving across the border, IFS has been able to build in longer lead times while still meeting customer requirements. We believe this proactive approach has led to a very busy and successful period for IFS.” Looking to the future, Wood


sees volumes across the Irish Sea staying steady as the lockdown from Covid 19 eases. However, he does see more freight movements from the UK into the Island of


Ireland changing routes as


operators are somewhat restricted in shipping lanes, whereas previously ports in Northern Ireland were used for deliveries north of Dublin. There is no getting away from the additional paperwork but the secret is how you manage it, he says.


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