Although it has seen an increase in passengers and freight between Ireland and Europe, Brittany Ferries has warned that the push for greener vessels could hurt its business in the future if the price of electricity leads to higher fares.
Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of the French ferry company, said passenger numbers from France to Ireland were up 5 per cent this year, with expectations of further growth on the route next year.
Brittany Ferries boosted sailings on its Rosslare-Cherbourg route last week after rival Stena Line axed its service between the two ports. Brittany Ferries, which already operated the same route five times a week, now runs daily crossings.
Passenger numbers between Rosslare and Bilbao have seen growth of 15 per cent over the past year. “It is the fifth year of this route and we have now gotten to a level of activity that is very satisfactory,” said Mr Mathieu.
READ MORE
“We wanted to triple passenger numbers on the Spanish route over this three-year period. I wouldn’t say we have quite achieved that, but we are between the doubling and the tripling, and we are almost there. It always takes time for a route to get going with ferries. People know about it now and that it’s reliable.”
On the Ireland-Spain route, about 80 per cent of passengers are Irish, while the remaining 20 per cent are Spanish. On the Ireland-France route, the growth is half and half between Irish and French customers.
In terms of Irish exports, the company has doubled the freight carried from Rosslare to Cherbourg this year. On the Spanish route, there has been 15 per cent growth.
Brittany Ferries offers a rail service that can transport freight from Cherbourg to Bayonne on the French-Spanish border, which it launched in the summer.
Dubbed Ro-Ro (roll-on roll-off) Rail, the service allows quick access to the French rail network and on to Spain and Portugal for trailers from Ireland.
[ Irish Rail ordered to repay wages deducted from inspector who owed firm €84,000Opens in new window ]
“It’s a service for our Irish and British freight customers that do business with Spain,” said Mr Mathieu. “That has further enhanced our capacity and the options for our Irish exporter customers, and we are hoping to grow further off the back of that.
“Our freight out of Ireland is up on last year. It is difficult to know what our competitors are carrying so I can’t speak to the broader exports picture, but Ireland is pretty dynamic on the freight side.”
Looking ahead, Mr Mathieu said the group remains “very confident” about the outlook, but pointed out that October was too early in the booking cycle to judge how the company might perform next year.
“Some people have booked, but it’s not meaningful yet,” he said. “We see people book a lot around Christmas, and January is the big booking month.”
Mr Mathieu said the company had no plans to develop other routes out of Ireland. “You can never say never, but there is no intention from us to develop further routes at the moment,” he said.
“Brexit is long gone now, and I think everything is now organised, including avoiding a land-bridge and all of that, so there will be natural growth that won’t be massive but will be linked to the general economic performance. We are satisfied and confident about the outlook for the Irish economy.”
[ Dawn Meats clears regulatory hurdle for New Zealand meat co-op dealOpens in new window ]
Mr Mathieu said the cost of travelling by ferry – as with aircraft – is going to increase as companies grapple with the transition to greener upgrade vessels, and he criticised the EU, which he said was overstating the group’s methane emissions.
“I think people are willing to pay a little bit extra, but not a lot extra,” he said. “One of the issues we have in Europe is that while we are investing in greener vessels, we also have to pay for our carbon and methane emissions. Our liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels emit carbon dioxide, and also emit methane.
“The EU uses a theoretical framework to calculate our methane emissions, while an independent study on board our ships found our real methane slip is half of what the EU says it is. This is important because it comes back to what people are willing to pay for greener ships.”
He said the company was extremely careful with costs and could not accept paying for something it did not do. There was a limit, he explained, to what they could charge customers.
“People are all for the ecology, but there is a price. There is a debate with the EU and it is being looked at. We have provided the study and all the analysis, and France is in discussions with the EU on this on our behalf to hopefully amend how the methane slip is calculated going forward.”
The company already operates ships that run on LNG, which is a cleaner form of energy than other fossil fuels, and intends to introduce hybrid and battery-powered ships down the line.
[ Crown slips on pride of the Kingdom as Kerry’s shares languishOpens in new window ]
“Under EU regulations, we need to be emission-free by 2030,” said Mr Mathieu. “The charging points in Rosslare and Cork are not there yet, but they are working on it. We will have to have the equipment so the vessel can be plugged on the quay. So it is happening.
“The other question will be the price of electricity in the ports. The carbon issue is important and it needs to be dealt with, but the cost of the transition has to be smooth and affordable for people to carry on consuming.
“It is the trade-off between ecology and economy. It is altogether different if the cost is 5 per cent or it is 15 per cent or 20 per cent.”
The company still needs to retrofit its vessels so it can charge them when the infrastructure arrives in the ports, which he said is “a work in progress”.
“It is doable,” he said. “It will be done, but we need to mindful of the cost. If the cost of electricity is unreasonably high, it will not be straightforward because people won’t sail.”
