Fears over Scottish freight route loss

DFDS operates the ro-ro service from Rosyth to Zeebrugge and it says it will face a “big challenge” in retaining the route when the new shipping regulations which limit sulphur emissions come into force.

The FTA says that rumours of the closure have come about because of its report into Scotland’s supply chain which highlighted the fact that DFDS could lose a third of its fleet when the SCAs come into force. This is because its vessels are too old to be retrofitted to ensure compliance and some routes aren’t lucrative enough to warrant spending any more money anyway.

The FTA says that the Rosyth route loss could mean HGVs carrying export goods bound for the continent down from the north of Scotland to ports in England instead – creating a logistical nightmare on the main A1 road.

Chris Macrae, FTA’s head of policy in Scotland, said to GreenPort: “This could mean trucks having to travel to Teesport, but Teesport will be facing the same problems as Rosyth. Therefore, we do not want to see a situation where it is cheaper to transport freight via trucks down the whole length of the UK to ports on the south coast or turn what was a shipping pollution problem into a road pollution problem.”

In 2010, DFDS ended passenger services on the route after declining numbers, but it was kept on as a freight only service. Unfortunately, since then the service has reduced crossings from three times down to once per week.