#FerryNews - Scottish M.P. for Dunfermline and West Fife, Douglas Chapman has held "positive" talks about a new passenger and freight ferry service between Rosyth and Belgium.

As the Dunfermline Express writes the M.P. believes Brexit could actually enhance the prospects of the route being profitable – DFDS pulled out last month after it "lost all hope" of turning round losses.

Mr Chapman met the General Representative of the Government of Flanders, Nic Van der Marliere, to discuss the possibility of a new link.

The Belgians are keen to restore the "historic link" and the MP said: "Even before the withdrawal of the DFDS service, we were already in talks with Flanders regarding a new passenger and freight ferry service from Rosyth into Europe.

“Due to the confusion and potential delays at English ports such as Dover as a result of Brexit, these circumstances may become a driver for more seaborne traffic from Scotland as no Scottish exporter wants their goods sitting in a customs queue on the south coast.

"Similarly for tourists, no-one wants to start their holiday waiting in the equivalent of bank holiday-style traffic jams as they try to get onto a ferry in Hull or Folkestone."

A fire on board the Finlandia Seaways ship on April 16 hastened the end of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight ferry service run by DFDS. It said it was unable to find a replacement and had "lost all hope" of turning round losses.

The Rosyth ferry has been operating since 2002, initially by Superfast Ferries and then Norfolkline, but stopped carrying passengers in 2010 when it became a freight-only service.

For further reading on this ferry development, click here.