Honestly, at the moment, no one knows what will be happening in August at the moment, forget about next year.
I imagine the operators have plans in place for various scenarios, however, Covid19 is only part of the problem, I imagine Brexit is a far bigger issue for ferry operators on the Irish Sea (P&O, Stena and ICG) - freight is reliable money, not passengers.
At a guess, ICG cancelling the second order at FSG would suggest they don't expect to be massively expanding operations in the near future. BF expanding out of both Cork and Rosslare may lead to some reaction, but hard to predict at the moment.
Although Brittany Ferries does not currently operate any Ireland to UK direct routes, I think it will also be a headache for BF given that it runs multiple routes between UK-France and UK-Spain in terms of Brexit and the end of transition period getting closer and closer by the day. The whole prospect of Duty Free Shopping on all routes to/from the UK a more likely outcome from January as there is the potential to generate much needed additional revenue streams.
It was interesting to read on Thursday 23rd July that Brittany Ferries is confident by investing this early out of Cork as it apparently considers Cork to Roscoff routes more reliant on tourist/passenger market versus freight volumes sector. One thing seems clear in recent days, Brittany Ferries has demonstrated it's future commitment to it's Cork operations following it's expansion to Rosslare Europort earlier this year. Cork seems to be it's main Irish base for sustaining/growing it's passenger tourist traffic while it's Rosslare Europort base is mainly focused on growing freight volumes to/from Ireland.
I suspect that Irish Ferries, Stena Line and perhaps other operators will also want "a slice of the pie" as a higher number of people are likely to want to get out of Ireland next summer having been discouraged to travel abroad this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 will be a huge challenge for the tourist industry both at home and abroad as providers will be keen to generate additional revenue after a disastrous 2020.
Fastnet Line was a shortlived successor to Swansea Cork Ferries on the former Cork to Swansea ferry route which ended sailings in 2011 with the vessel MV Julia. B+I Line had also operated routes between Cork and various South Wales ports: Fishguard/Swansea/Pembroke Dock down through the years until Summer 1983.
ICG owned Irish Ferries used also operate summer seasonal services out of Cork for a number of years with it's former Cork to Le Havre and Cork to Cherbourg links until 1997 although; these routes ceased to operate when St.Killian II and St.Patrick II vessels were being sold by the company.
Will other ferry operators be considering the Port of Cork's Ringaskiddy ferryport for 2021 and beyond in a changed world with the possibility of Duty Free Shopping returning on routes to/from UK?
Perhaps we could we see additional continental services ex-Cork to France/Spain etc; from other operators.
Will other changes happen at Rosslare Europort among other carriers namely, Irish Ferries and STENA Line etc;?
Will Dun Laoghaire ever see ferries berth again if Dublin Port becomes too congested in the years ahead - Do STENA Line currently own the former ferry terminal and any of the associated facilities at Dun Laoghaire nowadays?
Dublin Port ferry traffic - how will it cope in the event of a hard BREXIT ?
How will Ferry Operators stimulate business in 2021 post COVID-19?(Read 7621 times)
