DUBLIN, April 19 — More firms are shipping goods between Ireland and Britain via Northern Ireland to avoid post-Brexit red tape and delays, the head of Dublin Port said today, describing it as a “worrying” and potentially permanent development.
The introduction of checks on some goods since neighbouring Britain left the European Union’s trading orbit on Dec. 31 has led to a sharp fall in trade between the two countries and a big increase in shipping routes from Ireland to mainland Europe.
However the chief executive of Dublin Port said some cargo is also being diverted through British-run Northern Ireland. Ireland’s largest port reported a 29 per cent year-on-year drop in trade volumes between Ireland and Britain in the first quarter.
“The dislocation of a lot of volume to ports in Northern Ireland is worrying,” Eamonn O’Reilly said in a statement.
“Back in 1990, before the (European) Single European Market was established, more than a third of Ro-Ro (roll-on/ roll-off service) trade chose services to and from Northern Irish ports rather than use services in and out of Dublin Port.”
O’Reilly said port operators would not get a proper sense until later in the year as to how much of the decline is due to the new border regimes and whether the dislocation will be a permanent feature.
Roll-on/roll-off volumes to and from France, Belgium and the Netherlands increased by 26 per cent in the first quarter while lift-on/lift-off services between Dublin Port and mainland European ports were 18 per cent higher, the statement said.
For decades, Irish traders have preferred to ship goods to the rest of Europe via Britain, taking a short sea crossing to ports in Wales and then a hop to France.
O’Reilly said Dublin Port was optimistic that the so-called UK landbridge will re-establish itself as a fast and cost-effective option in the months ahead. — Reuters
