Shippers bypass UK for trade with EU

New roll-on roll-off ferry routes linking the Republic of Ireland to ports in other European Union nations have been a major success in recent months, according to data from the Irish Maritime Development Office.

The routes, which bypass the United Kingdom, are becoming the favored way to export to mainland Europe, said the IMDO.

In its latest report, the office said the routes, which were introduced to bypass post-Brexit costs, delays and paperwork, have seen a 50 percent increase in trade volume during the past six months.

Before the UK left the EU, most exporters in Ireland shipped products to mainland Europe via ferries and roads across mainland UK.

But according to a report by The Guardian, the IMDO data shows that Ireland now has 32 new ferry services linking it directly to EU ports.

Business Matters magazine said the republic, which had 12 ferry services linked to ports in France before Brexit, will soon have 44.

At the same time, the IMDO report said freight shipped from Dublin to the UK's Liverpool port shrank by 19 percent.

"It is clear that the new trading arrangements between Ireland and the UK have had a significant and negative effect upon (roll-on roll-off truck ferry) freight traffic between the two countries," the report said.

Long lineups

The new post-Brexit trading arrangements that came into force on Jan 1 call for additional customs checks and have led to long lineups at some ports, including Dover in South east England, which is the main conduit for freight shipped between the UK and the EU.

"One-third of all (roll-on roll-off truck ferry traffic) in the Republic of Ireland now operates on direct routes to ports in the European Union, up from a 16 percent share in 2019," the report noted.

Glenn Carr, general manager of Rosslare Europort, which handles most of Ireland's freight shipped directly to EU ports, told Dublin-based news site The Journal.ie: "We're definitely seeing where, traditionally, a lot of goods were sourced in the UK or exported to the UK, there's been a switch to Europe. We definitely see it in the port in terms of the mix of goods that are there now－ingredients, food, dairy, pharmaceuticals."

Additionally, Irish exporters looking to send products to customers in the UK have swung away from the traditional Dublin-Liverpool route, and are now sending items via Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK but has different rules related to the handling of freight from the EU.

The Guardian said this additional traffic now flowing through Northern Ireland is being seen by some as a "Brexit dividend" for the province's ports, with the three main hubs having seen freight traffic from the Irish republic that is destined for the UK rising between 15 and 20 percent.