As the only country with which the UK shares a land border Ireland is the closest country to the UK in more ways than one. With strong trade links, especially in the food and drink and textile markets the two countries exchange hundreds of tonnes of freight a day.

Here, Freightlink answers some of the most common questions about freight ferry travel on the Irish sea.

Passenger or Freight?

With as many as 13 ferry routes separating UK mainland from the island of Ireland you are not spoilt for choice, especially with services departing at regular intervals around the clock. With strong tourism links supporting the strong trade links there can be a distinct split between those ferry services designed to cater for the passenger market, and those specifically targeting freight. Freight only operator Seatruck Ferries have built their entire business model around unaccompanied drop trailer traffic. Their services from North West England to Larne, Warrenpoint and Dublin are popular in this market, and the ferries are only designed to carry 12 drivers per sailing. Other services are primarily operational with the passenger market in mind. For example, the Irish Ferries vessel Jonathan Swift is a fast ferry designed for cars and foot passengers. Operating virtually all year round it is the quickest route from the UK Mainland (Holyhead) to the Republic of Ireland (Dublin), crossing in less than 2 hours. That’s not to say, of course, that the Swift can’t carry freight – it can. But it will only take vehicles up to around 10metres in length and 10tonne in gross vehicle weight. Of course, come summer holidays freight spaces can be at a premium. Most other services will welcome freight and passengers in equal measure, and freight drivers can enjoy facilities designed for passengers, whilst often getting some perks of their own.

What about other fast ferries?

The recent rises in the cost of fuel have generally made fast ferries on the Irish Sea unviable. The Swift is the only vessel which seems to be able to operate two round trips a day, almost year round. Stena Line fast ferry services have been phased out over a number of years. For example, the Stena Voyager, which used to operate a high speed service on the Stranraer – Belfast route was deemed surplus to requirements when Stena Line opened their new port at Loch Ryan, and brought in two newer, more efficient vessels. Meanwhile on the Republic of Ireland route, the Stena Explorer now only operates one round trip a day on the Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire route between April and September, carrying with it a price premium.

What’s peak and off peak?

The Irish Sea has traditionally operated on a “peak” and “off peak” pricing policy for freight. Basically, this means that if you are able to travel at less popular times, you will enjoy a cheaper price. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules to determine peak and off peak and the ferry operators set their own conditions, it can generally be assumed that anything departing between around 9am and 5pm is off peak, anything outside of this is peak. Overnight departures are always peak. There are of course a couple of exceptions – Stena Line’s 08:20 departure from Holyhead and 16:00 departure from Dublin are both classified as peak. The Swift sailings have their own price classification.

Hasn’t there been some route closures recently?

Yes, 2010 into 2011 saw a number of changes on the Irish Sea route network. The closure of the Fleetwood – Larne and Birkenhead – Dublin routes removed spare capacity from the marketplace. Stena Line’s purchase of the Birkenhead – Belfast and Heysham – Belfast routes was completed in September 2011. Along with the transfer from Stranraer to the new Cairnryan port this means that the Irish Sea market is much more stable in 2012.

What do I need to travel to Ireland?

Being part of the Common Travel Area means that UK citizens only need photographic identification in the form of a driving licence to travel to either Northern or the Republic of Ireland. However, passports are recommended wherever possible.

The Swansea – Cork ferry service was closed on 2nd February after the owners, West Cork Tourism Co-operative Society, and the operator, Fastnet Line, failed to secure the funding for the service to continue. For more information on this please visit our news item here.

DFDS & LD Lines to commence Dover – Calais

DFDS Seaways and LD Lines announced that they would commence a jointly operated Dover – Calais service from the 17th February. Initially the LD Lines ship Norman Spirit will operate 5 round trips a day. For more information on this please visit our news item here.

Spirit of France arrives in Dover

The second of P&Os brand new &eur;180million ships – the Sprit of France – has arrived in Dover, and is due to commence operating on the Dover – Calais route today, 9th February. Sister ship to the Sprit of Britain launched in early 2011, she can carry up to 160 lorries, 2000 passengers and 195 cars. The two Spirits are the largest ships to ever operate on the Dover Straits.

Eurotunnel announces sales growth

The Eurotunnel group announced 2011 revenues as being up 16% up year on year to €844million. In total 1.26 million trucks had used Eurotunnel shuttle services in 2011.

Scotland builds world’s first hybrid ferries

Construction on two pioneering battery powered ferries to be operated by Cal Mac commenced in Scotland at the end of January. Designed to cover only short ferry crossings they are reported to be the world’s first roll-on roll-off diesel-electric hybrid ferries. Built to accommodate 150 passengers and 23 cars the first vessel is expected to enter service on the Skye-Raasay route next year.

Viking Line build LNG ferry

ABB are to provide an energy management system for a environmentally friendly ferry being built in Finland. Due to be delivered to Viking Line next year to operate on their Turku – Stockholm route the vessel will run on liquefied natural gas. At 214 meters long, and with a passenger capacity of 2800 it will be the first passenger vessel of its size to be fuelled with LNG. Amongst the environmental benefits the ship will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 to 30% from conventional diesel engines.

A joint venture between DFDS and LD Lines looks set to start a Dover – Calais service by February 10th. The joint venture, which had had a takeover bid for SeaFrance rejected last year, have made no secret of their plans to get the 2 ship service up and running as soon as possible. Speaking to IFW LD Lines MD Christophe Santoni said that “As soon as we have finalised the negotiations we have begun with the port authorities of Calais and Dover on operating agreements, we will start recruiting staff for the Calais-Dover crossing, with priority given to ex-SeaFrance workers.”

Whilst both DFDS and LD Lines are new to the Dover-Calais route, neither operator is unknown to cross-channel services from Dover. Whilst DFDS operate a long running service between Dover and Dunkerque, LD Lines had a less successful experience in their efforts to run a Dover – Boulogne service. That ill-fated service was scrapped in September 2010 after just 18 months of operation. DFDS have already stated that the new joint venture will not affect its existing service – instead designed to complement it. “From Dunkerque we can reach markets in northern Europe and from Calais those to the south” a spokesman has said.

And whilst DFDS and LD Lines are busy preparing to commence their service, P&O have also taken delivery of the second of their brand new €180million ships – the Spirit of France. 12 months after the arrival of her sister the Spirit of Britain, the Spirit of France represents the second half of P&O’s €360million investment in the route. As the largest ferries ever to sail on the Dover straits, the Spirits have raised the bar in terms of quality and comfort of Dover-Calais ferry travel for both freight and passengers alike.

A brand new pair of operators, a brand new ferry and the good news might not even stop there for Dover – Calais. Eurotunnel is currently trying to finalise its own plans for the commencement of a cross-channel ferry service, involving the purchase of SeaFrance vessels and a joint venture with a co-operative of former SeaFrance workers.

As the SeaFrance saga turned the Dover Straits into a breeding ground for a price war amid the air of uncertainty, 2012 promises stability and a bright future for Dover – Calais ferry travel.

Earlier this week the “Seatruck Progress” arrived in Liverpool on her maiden voyage from FSG Flensburg in Germany. The vessel takes Seatruck’s unaccompanied business plan on the Irish Sea to a whole new level. The 142m long, 24m beam, 4 deck ship dwarfs other ro-ro ships. Capable of up to 25 knots, the new ship will take up to 35 13.5m trailers more than the outgoing “P” class vessels currently operating on the Liverpool to Dublin and Heysham to Warrenpoint routes.

But why would Seatruck put on increased tonnage, in an Irish market that has gone through a period of consolidation and capacity reductions in order that ferry companies can stem big financial losses? The simple answer is economies of scale. Seatruck and FSG have considered every cost in detail to produce one of the most efficient vessels in the world, giving Seatruck the advantage of lower operating costs on one of the most buoyant routes to Ireland. As an example, the hull has not got a single parallel line making it uber efficient at cutting through the water. As can be seen in the photos here, take a look at the classic “coke” bottle shape of the hull.

“Unlike the outgoing “P” class ships the 12 drivers will be in shared cabins, but the size and quality of these cabins means that the drivers will still enjoy the excellent standard they are used to. This is one area where costs were cut. After all Seatruck has got to sweat the asset, and make this pay for the Clipper group.

When DFDS stopped the Birkenhead-Dublin route in February 2011, 145,000 units a year dropped into the market place. P&O reacted earlier this year by putting the “Endeavor” on as a 3rd “shoulder” rated service to grab some of the higher paying overnight driving accompanied traffic destined for Dublin. However, the service offering in Holyhead between Irish Ferries and Stena Line is now better than ever, with a sailing  nearly every 4-5 hours, making is difficult to tempt driver accompanied business to Liverpool.

At a time when hauliers are under enormous pressure with increasing ferry prices (see the Ferry companies put the rate squeeze on for 2012 blog – Dec 08th 2012), now that the “Seatruck Progress” has joined the party, with her sister “Seatruck Power” due within the next 12 weeks, Seatruck will have an even better chance at tempting hauliers & distributors to convert to a more cost effective unaccompanied service into Dublin.

For further news and ferry information – please go to www.freightlink.co.uk

Check out Seatruck Ferries “Seatruck Progress” slide show

Its no great secret that apart from Irish Ferries, who just managed to scrape a profit, all of the Irish Sea ferry operators made massive losses during 2010, and are allegedly not, so far, making the required returns in 2011. Seatruck Ferries, P&O and Stenaline have had a difficult year, and the demise of Fastnet Swansea – Cork echos the problem.

At the time of writing, freight rate increases are ongoing. Be prepared for some hard hitting figures as the remaining ferry operators look to draw a line in the sand on competitive rates of recent times. The central route of Birkenhead-Belfast now has no direct long sea competition. You can therefore expect this route to be squeezed extra hard with Stenaline extracting every penny it can out of the market place. That doesn’t mean to say Stenaline will be on its own, as other diagonal Ro-Ro freight routes operated by Stenaline, and Seatruck will equally be under the spot light to make an improved return on investment in 2012.

Stenaline have invested £ 200 million on their Cairnryan-Belfast service, and are unlikely to try and build additional volumes on rate cuts. The new terminal and ships have to be paid for somehow !. P&O are very unlikely to let Stenaline steal a march, and have no doubt looked to tie in large volume carriers.

Despite P&O on the Liverpool-Dublin route having no long sea Ro-Pax competition (DFDS Birkenhead-Dublin route closure in February 2011), weak rate increases, rising fuel costs and expensive tonnage have allegedly wiped out any expected profits for 2011. This is in the face of some very fierce competition when Seatruck introduce their new 150 unit ships onto the Liverpool-Dublin route in December / January. However, this investment will have to be paid for, so expect big freight rate increases.

The question on everyone’s lips in the know is, will the ferry companies be brave enough to tackle the volume hauliers who hold such control over the ferry companies ? This will be the key to turning losses into profit. Or will we see a capitulation to the larger hauliers which will result in the smaller hauliers bearing the brunt of the rate increases and ultimately losing out further to the big boys !!!

Stenaline have invested over £ 200 million (sterling) on the new services, and every penny shows ! Just to avoid any confusion, the new Stenaline Cairnryan terminal port is approximately 5 minutes by vehicle further north on the A77 from the P&O European Ferries terminal in Cairnryan.

Stenaline have lifted the port arrival experience to a whole new level ! The new terminal in Cairnryan invites Freight clients to enter check-in at a multi user check-in point to the left of the passenger check-in. Simply quote the booking reference supplied by Freightlink to ensure a speedy check-in. Once processed, freight vehicles will be directed to the loading lanes, and can then make use of the port facilities. The terminal experience is second to none, with dedicated freight driver shower & toilet facilities, discounted cafe all in relaxing surroundings.

When on board Stenaline’s Superfast vessels you can really see where the investment has gone. The onboard experience has been polished to unparalleled levels by any ferry operator on the Irish Sea. Freight drivers are treated like VIP customers with a dedicated luxurious freight lounge including rest areas with fabulous reclining seats.

For those wishing to travel in club class…..Stenaline have taken 1st class to “exemplary” class. With sumptuous reclining seats, hand stitched bucket seats, enormous TV’s, Ipads, 22inch Mac’s and even a Jacuzzi. The list simply goes on and on. The interior resembles that of a 5 star hotel from Knightsbridge.

Will Stenaline freight start to encroach on P&O’s 70% + market share of the Lochryan routes ? Based upon the shore and ship services, this is very likely. However real question however is; can Stenaline do this without cutting freight rates ? The ferry industry is under pressure just as the haulage industry is. Seafrance demise highlights these difficulties, and rate cuts to attract new business will be the very last resort. Stenaline will be hoping to attract business by adding value to their offering, whist P&O will continue to fight for every last truck and trailer !

Stenaline freight do not permit the displaying of freight rates. Please contact our customer service team for service details and discounted prices +44 (0) 844 847 9000

Click here for a slideshow of terminal building and new Stena Superfast ferry

Schedule details below:-

The Baltic Sea has long been an important trading lane in the European ferry network. With a vast network of connections covering nine countries almost the whole area has been made accessible by ferry.

Such a wide route network across a number of operators means that competition for traffic is intense in both the passenger and freight markets. Because of this ferry operators are always looking to stay ahead of their competitors and provide the best service they can for passengers and freight customers alike.

With this in mind, Scandlines are investing heavily in their Rostock – Gedser route. Rostock – Gedser has always served as a vital link between Germany and Denmark, and Scandlines are currently investing nearly £200million in new ferries and port extensions. In Gedser a new terminal and check-in area are well under construction, along with two new berths in Rostock. The new berths in Rostock are due for completion in 2012 and mean that should future demand exist a four ship operation will be possible on the route.

However, it is the investment in the two new ferries on this route which provide most excitement. With capacity for 460 cars or 90 trucks and 1500 passengers the capacity is more than doubled. The two ships – Berlin and Copenhagen – will also operate to the maximum dimensions for Gedser port as well as being fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

A modern, unique design for the exterior of the two ferries will be complemented inside by a design inspired by the cycle route from Copenhagen to Berlin. With a wide variety of restaurants, cafes and snack areas as well as a dedicated driver’s lounge with shower facilities the two hour journey is designed to cater to the needs of passengers and freight traffic alike.

With an expected arrival date of March 2012 the Berlin and Copenhagen signal a new era in the competitive world of Baltic Sea ferry services.

The £200million development of the 25 acre site seven miles north of Stranraer is due to open in November.

The opening of the new port will also herald the launch of a new route between Cairnryan and Belfast, and the introduction of two       sister ships – Stena Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII. These two ships will be the biggest ships to ever operate the route, and will reduce crossing time to around 2 hours 15 minutes.

With the assistance of a specialist cruise ship fit-out company Stena Line are investing in creating the most modern and comfortable ferries on the Irish Sea.

For freight drivers this means:

• Trucker’s restaurant and lounge
• Freight drivers quiet area
• Drivers’ showers, with separate female driver shower area

An increased deck height of 5.05m (up from 4.8m) also gives Stena Line the opportunity to be a valid competitor to P&O for those higher freight vehicles. Berthing and turnaround times will be reduced, with the aid of semi-automatic mooring systems and berthing stern in in Loch Ryan. The new ships and location are also expected to improve service and reliability, especially during periods of bad weather.

With the new Cairnryan – Belfast service expected to start on 21^st November, followed by the grand opening by Dan Sten Olsen, CEO of Stena Line, and Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland on 25^th November, the significant investment promises to further strengthen the transport links between Scotland and Northern Ireland. With a brand new port, modern facilities, comfortable ships designed with freight drivers needs in mind and increased levels of service the Cairnryan – Belfast route looks set to be popular as a viable alternative to travel to Northern Ireland.

Photo from Stenaline shipping intelligence September

During this time, the two routes had been operated by a separate company, known as Stena Line Irish Sea Ferries. Under the terms of the CC investigation Stena Line were not allowed to integrate any areas of this business into the wider company until such times as the CC cleared the acquisition.

The formal approval of the acquisition on 29^th June, meant that Stena Line could now commence the task of integration. This integration includes everything from signage, to back office functionality, to new booking systems and even reprogramming the tills on board ship.

Stena Line’s plan is for all aspects of this integration to be completed at the same time, in order to provide a seamless transition for both passenger and freight customers alike. They are currently making good progress and targeting the first week in September for the final changes to go live, and for the routes to be fully integrated.

However, some changes have already been noticeable. The four ships across the two routes have already been renamed and are now known as the Stena Mersey, Stena Lagan, Stena Scotia and Stena Hibernia. Whilst new names, some fresh signage, and ultimately a fresh coat of paint may be all the passenger customers will notice, things are a little different on the freight side.

Changes to computer systems will mean a difference in the booking process, reference numbers and the invoicing system, whilst there will also be differences in fuel surcharges, hazardous surcharges and out of gauge load processing and charges.

As these changes filter through, and Birkenhead – Belfast and Heysham – Belfast become fully integrated into the wider Stena Line route network, it can now be clearly seen that nearly 12 months of uncertainty and upheaval on the Irish Sea is drawing to a close.

It was announced yesterday (26th July 2011) that DFDS and LD Lines have partnered in a potential new deal to purchase the troubled French operator SeaFrance.

SeaFrance’s financial difficulties have continued since being placed in administration in June 2010, and they have been waiting for EC approval on a further injection of capital from owners SNCF. With the SNCF deadline date for offers of 26^th July,  it emerged yesterday that DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, and have teamed up to bid for the assets of the failing cross channel ferry operator. The deal will be subject to official E.U. Competition Commission approval. If approved, DFDS would be the lead partner in the deal, taking a majority stake hold in the new business.

Seafrance currently operate 3 Ro-Ro vessels Rodin, Berlioz and Moliere along with a freight only Nord Pas De Calais. There had been ongoing speculation regarding the removal of the latter as Seafrance looked to remove costs.

If the DFDS/LD Lines deal is successful, this could potentially add an additional 2.9 million passengers and 550,000 freight units to the volume DFDS already carries on the Dover to Dunkerque route. It is clear, however, that if the new partnership is to be a success, it will have to streamline costs, and reverse falling Dover ferry rates in attempt to return the route to respectable profitability. One answer could be to reduce overall ferry capacity, thereby shrinking supply to assist a rise in rates.

The real question for freight and passenger customers is, will the new operator run a split operation into Dunkerque and Calais?  Or will they opt for consolidation and run a single route network?  Clearly each port offers differing commercial advantages. Dunkerque has a no strike agreement in place and as the port is further east it reduces running distances for the majority of freight travelling to and from Central and Eastern Europe. Dover to Dunkerque is, however, a longer crossing  and thus carries higher fuel costs  which could mean a Dover – Calais only option will be a serious consideration if the new operator is looking to reduce overall operating costs.

For further information, please contact our Customer Service Team on + 44 (0) 844 847 9000.