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Displaying items by tag: New RosslareCherbourg

25th July 2020

Brittany Ferries Plans to Use Another 'French Connection' Port is Followed by Second Cork Cruiseferry Move

Solent Sisters: Brittany Ferries Connemara is of the same 'Visentini' built ropax class of Etretat (above AFLOAT photo) departing Portsmouth bound for Le Harve, is to return to Irish waters on a new Rosslare-Cherbourg route in 2021. This will be the ferry's first return to Rosslare Europort since 2008 as Norman Voyager of LD Lines inaugural Ireland-France (weekend) Rosslare-Le Harve service which was added to an existing Normandy link to Portsmouth but the short-lived Irish service ended with the French operator chartering the ferry to former Celtic Link Ferries albeit on the slightly shorter Cherbourg route to the Irish port where Etretat is to return following Brittany Ferries English Channel & UK-Spain services. Note: blue mid-hull 'wave' livery, a legacy of LD Lines which was adopted for Brittany Ferries 'no-frills' (économie) ferries except the Connemara and Kerry.

Operator Brittany Ferries this week announced plans to increase services out of two Irish ports in 2021 but the new developments may lead to further consequences for the ferry firm given fluidity of Brexit, Covid-19 and economies impacting ferry holiday-makers and freight, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As a second Cork-Roscoff cruiseferry move which Afloat highlighted last weekend was followed by further plans for a new Ireland-France route published on mainstream media, demonstrated the company’s long-term commitment to Ireland. According to Brittany Ferries this in despite of on-going uncertainty over (Covid-19) travel restrictions and quarantine requirements this season, and the effect this is having on service viability.

  • New Rosslare – Cherbourg route to open (in 2021) Afloat confirms to begin on 22nd March (using the Irish Rail operated 'Europort') 
  • connecting Cherbourg which is in response to demand from Irish and continental hauliers
  • Additional mid-week sailing added to Cork – Roscoff 'seasonal' service (also 2021) Afloat also confirmed to be 24th March

In 2021, as alluded above a totally new route Rosslare-Cherbourg connection is to be added to the Rosslare-Bilbao sailings (from the Wexford port) which commenced earlier this year. In addition according to Brittany Ferries there is further good news for the Port of Cork with the addition of an extra mid-week sailing from Cork – Roscoff. The development Afloat adds follows the closure earlier this year of the first Ireland-Spain direct route of Cork-Santander only launched in 2018. 

The new sailings Brittany Ferries adds will see the utilisation of Connemara* (a ropax for Rosslare) and the Armorique (cruiseferry for Cork). The Amorique will join the flagship Pont-Aven which (like today) continues to serve the main Cork – Roscoff sailings at weekends.

Afloat however consulted the website sailing schedule to discover no-frillls (économie) branded ferry, Etretat* is rostered instead of Connemara deployed on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route. So Afloat awaits a reply from Brittany Ferries for the change of ropax which had served Rosslare before and for the former Celtic Link Ferries. In addition the Etretat is rostered to take over Kerry from November on the Rosslare-Bilbao crossing that covers both the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay.

The announcement of developments on Thursday comes on the day the company launched its schedules for 2021 sailings connecting the UK & Ireland with Spain. Reservations for all 2021 routes are now open. Passenger reservations can now be made for services up to the end of (October next year) on the following routes:

Rosslare – Bilbao 
Cork – Roscoff
Rosslare – Cherbourg

The new Rosslare-Cherbourg connection promises more choice and greater capacity on ferries linking Ireland and France.

Earlier this year, Brittany Ferries opened a new Ireland-Spain service, Rosslare-Bilbao and (more recently the 'seasonal' Rosslare-Roscoff) operated by another no-frillls / économie branded ferry, Kerry. This ropax took over from Connemara on the original operators Cork-Santander service which was withdrawn earlier this year. 

Primarily for freight, the twice-weekly Spanish rotations proved popular. However Irish and French hauliers have asked Brittany Ferries to move the weekly French rotation from Roscoff to the transport hub of Cherbourg. 

Afloat requested a response from the ferry operator as to why no sailings are advertised for bookings on the Rosslare-Roscoff route in 2021, however no reply was forthcoming. In the meantime this 'holiday' route is the second shortest sea duration route connecting Ireland and mainland Europe and is so far available to book at least until late October. 

Brittany Ferries has agreed to the hauliers request and confirmed that Connemara (despite ferry website's schedule of Etretat) to operate as a 'no-frills' branded service and which will serve two weekly Rosslare-Bilbao rotations, as well as a single Rosslare-Cherbourg rotation as of March next near.

It would appear that freight is 'king' in this regard to the priority of French port use and likewise the decision by Brittany Ferries to abandon the Cork-Santander link in favour of haulier demands then to relocate both Ireland-Spain ports to the current Rosslare-Bilbao route.  

There is however good news for the Cork-Roscoff route too cited Brittany Ferries. As primarily the service serves the tourist market with a near 50-50 split of Irish and French holiday-makers. These travellers will now benefit from an additional weekly rotation between the two ports, thanks to the introduction of the operator's aformentioned Armorique.

Roscoff-Cork weekend sailings will remain served by flagship Pont-Aven and with this new rotation by the Armorique during the week, significantly increasing capacity out of and into Cork. It will open more choice for those seeking a shorter break in either Ireland or France, with options to leave and return with Brittany Ferries, either mid-week or at the weekend.

Armorique will also continue in 2021 to maintain Roscoff-Plymouth service from where the cruiseferry custom-built for the western-most English Channel route made a maiden debut in 2008. Since then the cruiseferry has covered in for fleetmates on other routes among them Cork-Roscoff last year and previously reported on Afloat on the Caen (Oustreham)-Portsmouth route. 

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About Dublin Port 

Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest and busiest port with approximately 17,000 vessel movements per year. As well as being the country’s largest port, Dublin Port has the highest rate of growth and, in the seven years to 2019, total cargo volumes grew by 36.1%.

The vision of Dublin Port Company is to have the required capacity to service the needs of its customers and the wider economy safely, efficiently and sustainably. Dublin Port will integrate with the City by enhancing the natural and built environments. The Port is being developed in line with Masterplan 2040.

Dublin Port Company is currently investing about €277 million on its Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR), which is due to be complete by 2021. The redevelopment will improve the port's capacity for large ships by deepening and lengthening 3km of its 7km of berths. The ABR is part of a €1bn capital programme up to 2028, which will also include initial work on the Dublin Port’s MP2 Project - a major capital development project proposal for works within the existing port lands in the northeastern part of the port.

Dublin Port has also recently secured planning approval for the development of the next phase of its inland port near Dublin Airport. The latest stage of the inland port will include a site with the capacity to store more than 2,000 shipping containers and infrastructures such as an ESB substation, an office building and gantry crane.

Dublin Port Company recently submitted a planning application for a €320 million project that aims to provide significant additional capacity at the facility within the port in order to cope with increases in trade up to 2040. The scheme will see a new roll-on/roll-off jetty built to handle ferries of up to 240 metres in length, as well as the redevelopment of an oil berth into a deep-water container berth.

Dublin Port FAQ

Dublin was little more than a monastic settlement until the Norse invasion in the 8th and 9th centuries when they selected the Liffey Estuary as their point of entry to the country as it provided relatively easy access to the central plains of Ireland. Trading with England and Europe followed which required port facilities, so the development of Dublin Port is inextricably linked to the development of Dublin City, so it is fair to say the origins of the Port go back over one thousand years. As a result, the modern organisation Dublin Port has a long and remarkable history, dating back over 300 years from 1707.

The original Port of Dublin was situated upriver, a few miles from its current location near the modern Civic Offices at Wood Quay and close to Christchurch Cathedral. The Port remained close to that area until the new Custom House opened in the 1790s. In medieval times Dublin shipped cattle hides to Britain and the continent, and the returning ships carried wine, pottery and other goods.

510 acres. The modern Dublin Port is located either side of the River Liffey, out to its mouth. On the north side of the river, the central part (205 hectares or 510 acres) of the Port lies at the end of East Wall and North Wall, from Alexandra Quay.

Dublin Port Company is a State-owned commercial company responsible for operating and developing Dublin Port.

Dublin Port Company is a self-financing, and profitable private limited company wholly-owned by the State, whose business is to manage Dublin Port, Ireland's premier Port. Established as a corporate entity in 1997, Dublin Port Company is responsible for the management, control, operation and development of the Port.

Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny of the Bounty fame) was a visitor to Dublin in 1800, and his visit to the capital had a lasting effect on the Port. Bligh's study of the currents in Dublin Bay provided the basis for the construction of the North Wall. This undertaking led to the growth of Bull Island to its present size.

Yes. Dublin Port is the largest freight and passenger port in Ireland. It handles almost 50% of all trade in the Republic of Ireland.

All cargo handling activities being carried out by private sector companies operating in intensely competitive markets within the Port. Dublin Port Company provides world-class facilities, services, accommodation and lands in the harbour for ships, goods and passengers.

Eamonn O'Reilly is the Dublin Port Chief Executive.

Capt. Michael McKenna is the Dublin Port Harbour Master

In 2019, 1,949,229 people came through the Port.

In 2019, there were 158 cruise liner visits.

In 2019, 9.4 million gross tonnes of exports were handled by Dublin Port.

In 2019, there were 7,898 ship arrivals.

In 2019, there was a gross tonnage of 38.1 million.

In 2019, there were 559,506 tourist vehicles.

There were 98,897 lorries in 2019

Boats can navigate the River Liffey into Dublin by using the navigational guidelines. Find the guidelines on this page here.

VHF channel 12. Commercial vessels using Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire Port typically have a qualified pilot or certified master with proven local knowledge on board. They "listen out" on VHF channel 12 when in Dublin Port's jurisdiction.

A Dublin Bay webcam showing the south of the Bay at Dun Laoghaire and a distant view of Dublin Port Shipping is here
Dublin Port is creating a distributed museum on its lands in Dublin City.
 A Liffey Tolka Project cycle and pedestrian way is the key to link the elements of this distributed museum together.  The distributed museum starts at the Diving Bell and, over the course of 6.3km, will give Dubliners a real sense of the City, the Port and the Bay.  For visitors, it will be a unique eye-opening stroll and vista through and alongside one of Europe’s busiest ports:  Diving Bell along Sir John Rogerson’s Quay over the Samuel Beckett Bridge, past the Scherzer Bridge and down the North Wall Quay campshire to Berth 18 - 1.2 km.   Liffey Tolka Project - Tree-lined pedestrian and cycle route between the River Liffey and the Tolka Estuary - 1.4 km with a 300-metre spur along Alexandra Road to The Pumphouse (to be completed by Q1 2021) and another 200 metres to The Flour Mill.   Tolka Estuary Greenway - Construction of Phase 1 (1.9 km) starts in December 2020 and will be completed by Spring 2022.  Phase 2 (1.3 km) will be delivered within the following five years.  The Pumphouse is a heritage zone being created as part of the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project.  The first phase of 1.6 acres will be completed in early 2021 and will include historical port equipment and buildings and a large open space for exhibitions and performances.  It will be expanded in a subsequent phase to incorporate the Victorian Graving Dock No. 1 which will be excavated and revealed. 
 The largest component of the distributed museum will be The Flour Mill.  This involves the redevelopment of the former Odlums Flour Mill on Alexandra Road based on a masterplan completed by Grafton Architects to provide a mix of port operational uses, a National Maritime Archive, two 300 seat performance venues, working and studio spaces for artists and exhibition spaces.   The Flour Mill will be developed in stages over the remaining twenty years of Masterplan 2040 alongside major port infrastructure projects.

Source: Dublin Port Company ©Afloat 2020. 

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