THE IMPACT OF BREXIT CONTINUES TO BE FELT

The impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union and the reworking of customs arrangements continues to have a significant effect on ferry services in the Irish Sea, even though the situation has settled down somewhat. Dublin Port reported that freight traffic from the UK had slumped at the start of 2021 as the new customs arrangements came into force, with volumes down by 15 per cent. By June 2021, Fishguard to Rosslare, seeing however, ro-ro traffic volumes had started to recover, but dipped again by September.

Nine months on, Brexit continues to have a major impact on Dublin Port, with traffic to the UK (Holyhead, Liverpool and Heysham) down by 21 per cent, while direct trade with Europe was up 36 per cent. The Port stated: ‘However efficient the border inspections by state agencies are, some ro-ro operators are now opting to use Northern Irish ports instead of Dublin and we believe that this will be a