IMDO Report News

IMDO Report some clear shifts in Irish maritime traffic

There were no major surprises contained in the recently published unitised freight traffic report from Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO.) This document identifies volumes and trends in freight traffic for 2022 and makes comparisons with the 2019 performance.

The combination of Brexit, Covid-19, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the inevitable peaking of inflation, has slowed the growth in freight traffic movements to and from Ireland. This is reflected in the first drop in volumes for several years taking place in the final quarter of 2022. However, despite this slowdown in volumes being shipped as trailer traffic on board Ro-Ro vessels, the traffic gains made in the first half of 2022 were sufficient to ensure that 2022 was still a record year for this traffic where trailer numbers exceeded 1.2 million for the first time. Prior to Brexit the Ro-Ro sector comprised roughly 1 million units on Republic of Ireland/ GB routes and 200,000 units on direct continental routes.  In 2022 the 1.2 million units broke down as being 800,000 on GB routes and 400,000 on direct continental routes.

While the range and frequency of Ferry services serving the GB market has remained very constant over the period, it is, perhaps, interesting to see that both Irish Ferries and Stena Line have recently taken services out of their weekend Dublin/Holyhead  schedule. Irish Ferries have switched the Epsilon to a Dublin/Cherbourg freight only weekend operation.

Throughout the 2019-2022 period traffic volumes on Lo-Lo container services grew steadily until the last quarter 2022 slowdown. This traffic is mainly focused on routes linking Irish and Benelux ports and is a mix of European and Deep-Sea traffic.

The IMDO has also taken part, along with several Ports, Ferry, and Trailer Operators in an EU project on Digitalisation of the Maritime Supply Chain. They will host an event to launch the final report on March 29th. This work runs parallel with the development of blockchain enabled initiates to overhaul the centuries old way of documenting and managing the shipment of goods by sea and by combined transport.

 

Rosslare ferry traffic continues to grow

About half of the growth of direct continental freight traffic has come from the introduction of new services and increases in capacity on existing ones since 2019. Each week the Co. Wexford Port now serves, 28 sailings to South Wales, 7 to Cherbourg, 5 to Dunkirk, 3 to Zeebrugge, 2 to Bilbao and 1 to Le Havre. Except for the Finnlines service to Zeebrugge which is operated by freight only vessels carrying a mix of trailers and containers, all of these services will offer significant passenger capacity for Summer 2023 onwards.

The services through Rosslare are being supported by significant investment in Warehousing and related activities by companies including Nolan Transport and Perennial Freight. Planned Harbour related investment at Rosslare is intended to serve both Ferry and Offshore Wind Energy development.

 

MSC service moves Irish Feeders to a new level

On February 27th the MSC vessel MSC Nikoleta made the first call at Dublin Port opening a new weekly container feeder service linking, Dublin, Cork, Le Havre and Antwerp. This vessel has a freight capacity of 1720 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) and this is about double the capacity of the container ships normally used on Ireland/ Continental services.

The vessel’s capacity is similar to the normal feeder vessel services operated elsewhere in Europe and Asia and her introduction has been made possible by the development of the Cork Container Terminal at Ringaskiddy in the lower Cork Harbour. The Irish Continental Group’s Dublin Ferryport Terminal (DFT), which handles this service will add a further ship to shore crane during Summer 2023 to further speed vessel handling.

 

Deep Sea shipping rates continue to fall

The drop in ocean freight rates arising from the global economic slowdown continues. On routes other than the North Atlantic spot freight rates are now close to 2019 rates and contract rates are also sliding significantly. Many future rate contracts are being negotiated on much shorter terms and with index linking to reflect the open market conditions.

On the North Atlantic rates have remained high as traffic volumes have stayed strong. However, it is interesting to note that Maersk Line has revised its schedule on several transatlantic services. This is with the stated intention of improving transit times, and of operating in a more environmentally efficient manner. They have also added capacity on some routings. Maersk and MSC remain partners in the 2M vessel-sharing arrangement until early 2025.

The Airfreight picture remains similar to the ocean freight one; freight rates are falling as demand tails off, and the post covid restoration of passenger traffic volumes has brought more belly-hold capacity into operation. A number of the airfreight specialists have withdrawn aircraft from the market in a effort to stabilize rates and reduce costs.

Dublin Port Terminals

Container operations through the terminals at Dublin Port have been a hot topic at a number of IEA Regional Group meetings over the last year or so.

Overall, operations there are now running much more smoothly. The opening of Inland Port container storage and repair facilities close to the M50 has reduced terminal congestion, while each of the Terminal operators has made significant equipment purchases. Perhaps, most important is that the installation of Vehicle booking Systems and Numberplate recognition equipment, is almost complete.

It remains important that exporters make their issues known, either directly to the various operators in their supply chain or through the IEA, so that matters can be addressed.

 

Written by Howard Knott for the Irish Exporters Association

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