Shipping operator Finnlines will establish a twice weekly freight service each way between Rosslare and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, management of Rosslare Europort has announced.
The Helsinki-headquartered Finnlines, which is part of the Grimaldi Group, will begin the new freight route next month.
The advent of the new service and operator to Rosslare Europort not only provides a new direct link between Ireland and Europe, it opens up more European and global routes for Irish industry, it said. Zeebrugge is one of Europe’s busiest ports for roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) freight traffic.
The vessel Finnpulp, which will operate the route when it begins on July 23rd, has the capacity to carry 3,259 lane metres of cargo, equivalent to around 225 trailers. There will be two departures per week from each direction, with the port saying it hoped to expand the service further.
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“The growth of Rosslare Europort’s direct connections to and from the European continent continues apace. Having established ourselves as Ireland’s leading port for direct European RoRo services in 2021, the announcement by FinnLines will bring to 34 the number of direct services between Rosslare and the continent next month,” said Rosslare Europort general manager Glenn Carr.
“Finnlines joins our existing customers for European services — Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Neptune Lines — in taking advantage of our location, our connectivity, our capacity, and our work with Irish industry to provide it with the best possible service.”
Mr Carr added that a “substantial increase” in volume at the port “clearly demonstrates” that demand for services is shifting from other hubs to Rosslare, the port that is closest to the continent.
“As major ports such as Dublin grapple with future constraints and congestion, Rosslare Europort will be further developed to help alleviate these challenges and offer real, viable, efficient and sustainable alternative services and connectivity for the greater good of the wider economy.”
Finnlines line manager Antonio Raimo said the company was “delighted to support the growing post-Brexit Irish trade” to continental Europe and provide transport operators with an alternative route.
