Member-only story
A Bridge To Far
The Brexit threat to Welsh ports.
As Brexit negotiations rumble on, way beyond the eleventh hour, it seems clear that whatever deal is reached between the UK and EU, if any, it will not offer the ‘frictionless trade’ that Theresa May promised to UK businesses a little over two years ago. That has all manner of serious consequences. One that appears to have been largely overlooked in the UK is the impact on Welsh ports.
The Irish call it ‘the land bridge’. It’s the route from Ireland to continental Europe, via ferry ports in Wales and the UK roads network, to Dover and other ports serving France, Belgium and the Netherlands. 150,000 trucks use the route every year. That’s around 400 daily journeys in each direction. Thanks to Brexit those numbers are set to reduce dramatically in 2021.
Faced with the possibility of delays at each end of the ‘bridge’, Irish and continental hauliers are preparing to use alternatives. Ferry operators are laying on additional sailings on the direct routes from Ireland to the Continent. These include Stena Line and Irish Ferries from Dublin and Rosslare to Cherbourg, DFDS from Rosslare to Dunkirk and ClDN from Cork to Zeebrugge.
These routes may take a little longer but, as DFDS pointed out in their announcement of their new route, “drivers will arrive fully rested and immediately able to…