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Issue 1 2021 - FBJ Ireland


Traffic to some of


more


remote markets was also hampered by the lack of good air transport connections. However, the first three


months saw the introduction of many flights carrying PPE into Ireland which opened up capacity for certain routes and trade lanes. “Full freighters, preighters and part charters became the new norm,” McCool recalls. He continues that, as


summer 2020 approached, many restrictions eased and a number of carriers expanded and re-launched their schedules from Ireland. But since the new restrictions introduced in January, passenger loads have fallen away again and are again close to April 2020 levels. In April 2020 there were


about 18 departures per day from Dublin, rising to about 24 in February 2021. However, this must be compared to 270 per day in the first quarter of 2019. The new runway nearing completion at Dublin airport


is unlikely to be at full capacity for many years to come, McCool predicts. He adds: “For any wide body


flight ex-Dublin, the cargo load has to be the main contributor of revenue to keep the aircraft on the route. With the latest increase in countries now imposing forced quarantine, we will see more flights move from passenger and cargo flights to cargo-only flying. And flights can only continue to be viable if the yields remain high.” At the moment McCool is


not expecting to see many vaccines originate in Ireland while the major volume of imported vaccine is not expected until at least April. This may have an impact on global capacity and markets such as Belgium should see exports gradually increase over the next six months and should keep yields on the high side for at least most of this year. Once international borders


open up, more passenger wide bodies should enter the


market but, as McCool states: “There seems to be a new twist in the road each month, so it is very hard to predict exactly when there will be any substantial increase in wide body passenger capacity. While we are very hopeful that some additional capacity will start to re-enter the market towards April or May, a lot will depend on the many international factors such as borders opening up and levels of international vaccine roll out.” As


handling agents and trucking companies seems to have been well prepared for the changes in processes since January 2021. McCool says: “Our exports


by road via London Heathrow have been running relatively smoothly, though there have been some small delays with the discharge of bonds


transit in the UK. Imports


via Heathrow to Ireland are improving after a slow and troublesome initial period, but transit to the Continent via the


UK landbridge continues to be a concern.” Air cargo trucking from Ireland to the continent has been restricted to direct ferries from Ireland to France which has added extra cost as well as restricting groupage loads. Freight Transport


Association Ireland (FTAI) general manager Aiden Flynn estimated in mid-February that 70% of passenger planes


///IRELAND


were not flying in Dublin and that the integrators had done well from the hiatus in regular flights. He would like to see more emphasis on airfreight in Ireland, where the market is currently only around 150,000 tonnes a year, he says. Ireland will have plenty of


capacity when Dublin’s second runway opens later this year, although FTA remains very concerned at the proposed


curb on night flights that will be introduced as part of the planning


conditions for it.


Under the plans, the current 125-135 night slots would be cut to just 65 which, in Flynn’s view “is just not acceptable. It could compromise the whole of airfreight.” A further public consultation


is due to take place in summer where the freight industry will state its case rigorously.


for Brexit, Irish GSAs


Traffi c through Cork was down 2% to 9.2 million tonnes in 2020 due to the challenges posed by Covid 19 but containers were up 4% at 250,000teu, said the port in its latest statistics. The port attributed the strong


performance to introduction of several new services. In April 2020, CLdN Ro-Ro started a new weekly freight service between Cork and Zeebrugge, subsequently increased to twice weekly, highlighting the demand for direct, unaccompanied freight links to the EU as shippers look to avoid the UK land bridge following Brexit. Then, in June 2020, Container


Independent Line


(ICL) started a weekly direct service from Cork to the US, giving Ireland its fi rst direct container service to North America in many years. Covid 19 impacted heavily


on tourism, with Brittany Ferries services to the continent decreasing sharply and only two cruise ship calls completed, compared to over 100 in the previous year. On a brighter note, Brittany


Ferries has now introduced freight-only


sailings between


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Cork and St Malo and Roscoff in France. In the schedule that will operate until the end of March, there will be two freight sailings a week from Cork to Roscoff , one from Roscoff to Cork and one from St Malo to Cork (the services to Cork are interworked with the Rosslare/St Malo service, hence the apparent ‘one way’ sailings). However, Brittany Ferries says that passenger and freight services between Cork and Roscoff will resume at the end of March. Other traffi c, such as liquid


bulk and break bulk decreased marginally but the port said it expects these areas will return to growth in 2021. Sister operation Bantry Bay Port Company, reported an


to play an important role in ensuring supply chains were maintained across the southern half of the country. Even with the challenges of the global pandemic and Brexit, the port of Cork has welcomed several new freight services to the continent and an exciting, innovative direct link to the US, showing our resilience and capability to adapt, and our commitment to fulfi lling our role as a vital cog in keeping the region moving.” In an interview with FBJ,


Conor Mowlds added: “We ended up having a reasonable year despite the very signifi cant challenges we faced with cruise and ro-pax traffi c. With the overall rise in containers, I am very, very happy with the performance.” He said that the task facing


Port of Cork now was to underpin the investment in infrastructure with more effi cient and greener practices, building on the earlier successful introduction of a vehicle booking system. He continued: “Another very


important investment is in customer engagement.” Brian Dooley has been taken


on as development support manager for lo lo traffi c and


is an integral part of the port’s business. Work on the new Cork


Container Terminal (CCT) is


meanwhile continuing,


despite Covid. The site has been designated as Critical Infrastructure and as such, work has been allowed to progress unlike most building sites under Ireland’s strict lockdown rules, but inevitably at a slower pace. Nevertheless, Mowlds is very hopeful


that CCT will open


sometime in 2021. Meanwhile, the new ICL


service to the US and the CLdN Ro ro link to Zeebrugge have been “a fantastic success”. An intensive business to business marketing eff ort


will help to


further increase traffi c on the two routes. Cork also handles regular Maersk reefer services from the Caribbean. The port is meanwhile


working with Government offi cials on a plan to set up a Border Control Inspection Point (BCIP) which, while at an early stage, would facilitate trade in animal and agri-goods. This would be particularly benefi cial for Cork’s growing network of services to Continental Europe, says Mowlds.


increase in total trade traffi c in 2020 to 1.3 million tonnes. Chief commercial offi cer,


Conor Mowlds, said: “While 2020 was a challenging year, our port operations remained open throughout and we continued


will lead engagement with customers. Equally


important is


community engagement and another development manager will focus on community liaison which, in Mowlds’ view,


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