Irish trucks drive across the UK to avoid the bureaucracy of Brexit

DUBLIN – As the EU adjusts to its new post-Brexit relationship with the UK, fewer trucks are crossing the Irish Sea.

For decades the route across the UK (called a land bridge that takes about 15 hours) has been a vital and reliable thoroughfare for getting goods from Ireland to mainland Europe.

But with the Brexit transition period ending on December 31, trucks from the Republic of Ireland (which is still an EU member) traveling through the UK and entering the mainland through ports like Calais now face a lot of paperwork and red tape. . .

In the first week of January, operators such as Stena Line, Brittany Ferries and Irish Ferries added additional routes from Ireland to French ports such as Dunkirk, Cherbourg and Saint Malo, as well as Bilbao in Spain.

Three months after Brexit, port authorities, carriers and ferry companies are starting to get a grip on this new standard in Irish-European trade.

DFDS, the Danish shipping company, recently added a route between Rosslare Europort in the south-east of Ireland and Dunkirk.

“We are generally oversubscribed in capacity most days,” Aidan Coffey, route director at DFDS, told CNBC.

‘There are currently three ships rotating the schedules. That will go to a fourth ship very soon. ‘

The journey takes approximately 24 hours and is longer than usual to drive across the land bridge.

Laurence O’Toole is Managing Director of logistics company O’Toole Transport, which carries various mixed loads on its trucks, including seafood. Pre-Brexit most of its journeys were across the UK to reach Europe, but now it’s putting more trucks on these new routes.

“I’d say it’s turned upside down now,” said O’Toole.

For Rosslare Europort, the evolving dynamics of freight transport has increased activity at its berths. The port, more than 100 miles south of Dublin, has proven to be a popular location for ferries to connect to ports in France and Spain.

Glenn Carr, Rosslare Europort’s general manager, told CNBC that demand in the port has increased, but freight traffic in the UK has fallen by about 43%.

“It’s still very concerning, that level of decline in the UK. But total freight through Rosslare Europort, combined UK and Europe, is up 51% in the first two months of the year. That kind of growth has never been seen in Rosslare, ”said Carr.

“Demand still appears to be increasing. We are certainly in talks with possible other operators and other services.”

He said ship operators had to act quickly to prepare routes. Typically a route is embedded and demand gradually increases over 18 months before reaching capacity, but most trips are now at full capacity.

“It’s unprecedented and especially when they talk to the shipping companies, they would never have seen such a new service launch before,” Carr said.

However, it has only been three months in this new environment – while coronavirus shocks continue to be felt in the trade – and shippers continue to adapt. It also remains to be seen how much of the land bridge traffic will eventually return in the coming months.

“But the talks are about further expansion (of direct routes), it’s not about any contraction,” Carr said.

Rosslare Europort has embarked on a € 35 million ($ 41.3 million) investment plan to renovate and expand facilities in the port to meet this demand. The works will run for the next four years.

In Dublin port, operators expect the dock to reach processing capacity between 2030 and 2040. It has opened a consultation on what the long-term future will look like after 2040, as it would require the construction of any additional facilities on Ireland’s east coast. up to 20 years to design, build and fully commissioned.

These direct routes have not been a total cure-all for the challenges Brexit has posed for Irish freight carriers, according to O’Toole.

These sailings take longer, often between 18 and 24 hours, and depending on which port a ferry docks in, it can add more miles to a truck’s onward journey.

Trucks that land in Cherbourg but whose destination is in Northern France, the Benelux countries, Germany or beyond, have to deal with much more mileage, hours and fuel costs. Dunkirk, meanwhile, is close to Calais and provides a familiar environment for drivers accustomed to the land bridge.

“(Direct routes) are more expensive and slower, which is never good in the transportation industry,” said O’Toole.

“It saves a lot of paperwork, but for our customers and for ourselves the costs have gone up. We are trying to get that back from our customers. It’s not easy with Covid, nobody has money to throw around, so we’re trying keep everything as tight as possible. “

He said direct routes still cannot compete with the efficiency of the pre-Brexit land bridge.