Rosslare Europort () is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the south eastern most point of the island of Ireland. It is the primary Irish port serving the European Continent with 36 direct services to the Continent weekly."Rosslare Port Breathes Maritime Atmosphere & Will Have 36 Ferry Services Next Month" www.Afloat.ie 21 March 2021 It handles passenger and freight ferries to and from Cherbourg, Dunkirk, St Malo and Roscoff, in France, Bilbao in Spain and Fishguard and Pembroke Dock in the United Kingdom. Since July 2022, a new freight route between Rosslare and Zeebrugge, Belgium was introduced by Finnlines (Grimaldi Group) for a twice weekly ro-ro service between the two ports.
As a result of Brexit, the port is expanding rapidly, providing new or increased direct sailings with extra capacity from Ireland to mainland Europe.Stena Line adding extra vessel between Ireland and France www.rte.ie, 10 December 2020. The direct routes between Ireland and the continent allow freight transport firms to bypass the UK land bridge, in case there is severe congestion at British ports.Brexit: The Irish port of Rosslare is hoping to benefit www.bbc.com, 26 December 2020.
The port, formerly called Rosslare Harbour, is operated by Iarnród Éireann, Ireland's national railway operator. Wexford politicians Verona Murphy and James Browne maintain that if Rosslare is to take advantage of its new market opportunities and undergo radical expansion to handle container traffic, this will require large-scale investment.Brexit: The Irish port of Rosslare is hoping to benefit www.bbc.com, 26 December 2020."Port business boost means investment ‘urgently needed in Rosslare’ – Murphy" www.agriland.ie 11 December 2020"Confusion over ownership may have hit investment in Rosslare, says TD" www.independent.ie 9 February 2019
Rosslare Europort has direct sailings into Cherbourg, Dunkirk, St Malo/Roscoff and Bilbao ports. As a result of new routes or increased frequency and capacity on existing routes, there are 36 direct services (freight and passenger) to and from Rosslare to continental Europe weekly, a six-fold increase on the 3 weekly sailings to mainland Europe in 2019.New extra Stena Line Cherbourg sailings make Rosslare Ireland's leading port connecting industry to Europe www.fleet.ieDFDS introduced fourth ferry from Rosslare to Dunkirk Europort News 4 March 2021
Current services
+ Ferry services Ferry company Destination Notes Irish Ferries Pembroke Dock Brittany Ferries Cherbourg BilbaoSantanderNovember to March DFDS Seaways Dunkirk Finnlines Zeebrugge Freight only Stena Line Fishguard
The port predominantly handles RORO (roll-on/roll-off) cargo ships and ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off) passenger and freight vessels. The harbour has four cargo berths and a fishing vessel berth. Passenger ferries operate to and from Fishguard (Stena Line) and Pembroke Dock (Irish Ferries) in Wales, and to Cherbourg (Stena Line and Brittany Ferries) in France. Brittany Ferries also operate from Rosslare to Bilbao in Spain.Rosslare Bilbao Ferry www.rte.ie, 28 February 2020.Brittany Ferries Official Website. DFDS operates a freight-only service from Rosslare to Dunkirk with six sailings a week in each direction,Rosslare Dunkirk Ferry www.rte.ie, 27 November 2020.DFDS Official Website. On 4 March 2021, DFDS announced that the Dunkirk-Rosslare freight-only service would be increased to eight times a week from 1 April 2021.Fourth ferry added to Rosslare-Dunkirk route www.rte.ie 4 March 2021"Fourth freight ferry DFDS is to be added to the Rosslare-Dunkirk route on April 1st" www.Breakingnews.ie 4 March 2021 In February 2021, Brittany Ferries announced additional (freight-only) sailings one-way only from Roscoff to Rosslare Europort and from Rosslare to St Malo.Brittany Ferries unveil new post-Brexit direct ferries to mainland EU: Three new ferry routes with France launched to meet business demand to avoid Britain Irish Times, 2 February 2021. From 7 April 2021, Irish Ferries is introducing a new twice-daily ship on the Rosslare–Pembroke route, which will be the fastest RORO vessel between Ireland and the UK (4 hours 01 minute), with capacity for 1,500 passengers, 100 freight vehicles and 700 cars depending on freight volume."Irish Ferries announces faster service between Ireland and the UK" www.independent.ie 26 March 2021 From July 2022, a new freight route between Rosslare and Zeebrugge, Belgium was introduced by Finnlines, part of the Grimaldi Group, for a twice weekly ro-ro service between the two ports.
Rosslare Europort has a Border Inspection Post since 2019, crucial for the importation of agri-food, fish or live animal products. It is the only one in Ireland outside Dublin Port. It is currently based in a 16-acre site 2 km from the port."Rosslare approved as border control post Europort will be one of two ports with facilities for border control checks in Ireland ahead of Brexit" www.independent.ie 13 April 2019 Uniquely for Ireland, the new Border Inspection Post will offer a one-stop service for hauliers, as all necessary checks will be conducted on the same site (customs, agricultural and health inspections), so inspectors come to the hauliers rather than vice versa, saving them time and money.
An advantage for Rosslare is that direct sailings allow drivers to take their rest periods during the crossing, rather than when they land in France or Spain. It appears that there is substantial demand from industry (manufacturers and producers) to use direct sailings to avoid the practical difficulties of using the landbridge such as documentation, redtape, inspections, and the need to use several IT systems. Brexit: Truckers arrive 'fresh and well-fed' after first Rosslare-Dunkirk sailing www.IrishTimes.com, 3 January 2021. The same holds true for French business intent on avoiding Brexit-related delays and formalities by using the direct routes."Vu du Royaume-Uni.Dans les ports français et irlandais, un 'boom lié au Brexit'" Courrier International 15 February 2021"Malgré le Brexit, «Dunkerque est plus que jamais le port des îles Britanniques»" La Voix du Nord 8 March 2021
In March 2020 Brittany Ferries commenced the Rosslare-Bilbao service which runs twice weekly, this effectively replaced their Cork Santander service.New Rosslare to Bilbao ferry service sets sail by Conor O'Kane, RTE News, 28 February 2020. Brittany Ferries also offer a seasonal service with Roscoff/St Malo in France.Brittany Ferries announces new services to Spain and France from Rosslare Irish Times, 29 January 2020."Rosslare gives berth to two new routes Brittany Ferries sets sail for Bilbao from Rosslare for the first time with route to Roscoff to follow on later this month" www.independent.ie 7 March 2020
Neptune lines include Rosslare in a loop service which includes Santander, Bristol, Le Havre, Southampton and Zeebrugge, which is used to import motor vehicles.Atlantic Loop Neptune Lines"New Weekly Car Import Service to Rosslare Europort Operated by Neptune Lines" www.afloat.ie 4 April 2017
Facilities
Existing facilities in the terminal building include a cafe with shop, ferry company desks, car rental, and self-service left-luggage lockers. A viewing balcony and foot passenger lounge are to be found on the first floor. Railway services to Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin Connolly are located at Rosslare Europort railway station around a seven-minute walk in the open air along a specially marked path. Bus services to Wexford, and Waterford leave from just outside. Bus and rail connections to Cork, County Kerry, and Limerick, and bus connections to County Clare and Galway are available from Waterford whereas connections to Dublin are available at Wexford.
Port details At Rosslare, Iarnród Éireann is an infrastructure provider and operator, providing port facilities and related services, including stevedoring, to shipping lines. Rosslare Europort is operated as a Common User Terminal, meaning that the port authority carries out all stevedoring activities on a common user basis for all shipping lines using the port.
The import and export of motor vehicles (trade cars) is one of the most important trades of the port. In excess of 25,000 vehicles are handled per annum. The importer depot is in Rosslare Harbour Village.
The port can accommodate cruise liners. Rosslare Europort was included in the 2020 schedule of the Phoenix Reisen-owned liner MS Deutschland.
An all-weather RNLI lifeboat is on station, and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Waterford Airport provides air-sea rescue cover.Lifeboat Station : Rosslare Harbour An automatic weather station is maintained adjacent to the port by Met Éireann.
The port area is largely on reclaimed land. Reclamation work continued to the late 1990s when the northwest part of the port was constructed using a dragline. Modernisation of facilities has continued to encourage the increase in cars carried on the ferries despite a drop in foot passengers.
Rosslare has also handled rolltrailer traffic in the recent past, when Cobelfret operated a service from Rosslare to Zeebrugge/Rotterdam (October 2008 to September 2009). Rolltrailers enable the carriage of lift-on lift-off (LoLo) traffic on roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ships.
Rosslare Europort is the second most strategically important seaport in the state after Dublin. It is the second-busiest port in terms of ship visits and gross tonnage, and handles more unitised freight than any other Irish seaport except Dublin – in fact, Rosslare handles more unitised freight than all other seaports in the state, excluding Dublin, put together. Unitised freight is important because all of the high added-value exports on which Ireland's economic recovery depends are exported as unitised freight.
Rosslare Europort 2020 yearly figures are as follows: 810,000 passengers, 130,000 freight units and 515,710 tonnes of freight.
SailRail
The Rosslare Europort ferry connection using Stena Line to Fishguard Harbour and then by train operated by Transport for Wales to Carmarthen, Swansea and Cardiff links into Great Western Railway services to Bristol Parkway, Reading and London Paddington. This is popular with Rugby fans going to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff or the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Train and ferry connections across the Irish Sea are promoted as an alternative to air.
Irish Rail and ferry connections
Trains connect the port on the Rosslare Line via , , Gorey, , , to Dublin Connolly. Connecting routes from Dublin Connolly include the Sligo Line and the Belfast Line.
Planned development and investment at Europort
The Europort is set to undergo a major transformation over a three to five-year period with new investment of over €30 million invested to provide capacity, facilities and technology to facilitate major growth. There will also be initiatives under the strategic plan for the port including development of the Rosslare Europort Business Park by the Dutch company XELLZ targeting the future Offshore Wind Market and the creation of a Free Zone at Rosslare Europort and the Europort Business Park. It is intended to use technology to create Ireland's smartest digital and automated Port so that the Europort will meet all customs and Brexit requirements for state agencies.
Verona Murphy, former president of the Irish Road Haulage Association and a local TD, believes the port needs a €200m upgrade to take full advantage of the opportunities Brexit provides, as Rosslare is currently a roll-on roll-off port, taking trucks, drivers and trailers, whereas she maintains what is needed is to update to a load-on load-off container-type port, requiring crane infrastructure and significant land reclamation. The Irish government has said it will invest more in ports like Rosslare as businesses seek certainty amidst the confusion caused by Brexit.