Brittany Ferries increasing Rosslare-Cherbourg services as passenger volumes up 40% and freight units double

Stena Line is departing the route this autumn to focus on Irish Sea services

Brittany Ferries is increasing its presence at Rosslare Europort after confirming on Tuesday it will increase sailings to Cherbourg following Stena Line's decision to leave the service.

Brittany Ferries is increasing its presence at Rosslare Europort after confirming on Tuesday it will increase sailings to Cherbourg following Stena Line's decision to leave the service.

Brittany Ferries, which is long established in Cork, will increase both capacity and frequency of sailings from Rosslare to the French port from the end of September, with departures rising from five to seven every week. Brittany Ferries service from Cork to Roscoff has been continuing through the summer and has already been confirmed for 2026.

Brittany Ferries launched their Rosslare to Cherbourg service in 2021 in a post-Brexit response to demand from hauliers, to obviate the need to cross the UK-landbridge when moving freight between Ireland and France. Passenger volumes have soared nearly 40% while freight units have doubled.

Overall company turnover has continued upward, reaching €516m in 2024 compared with €484.7m in 2023 and €444.7m in 2022.

Brittany Ferries says the increased Rosslare service can ensure business continuity for Irish hauliers, as well as offering more choice to holidaymakers. “News that our competitor was stepping back, started the firing pistol in a concerted effort to secure port slots and better serve customers in Ireland and France," said Brittany Ferries chief executive Christophe Mathieu.

“It means greater choice for holidaymakers and even more opportunity for freight operators seeking to by-pass the UK entirely, cutting down on bureaucracy and delays at the UK border. Our new train connection in Cherbourg only adds further strings to the multimodal bow.” 

The company’s first train uses rail line links from Cherbourg and Bayonne, carrying unaccompanied trailers over 970km of the French rail network.

Glenn Carr, director of commercial business units for Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail-Port Authority for Rosslare Europort said since Brexit, direct sailings between Rosslare Europort and the European continent have increased six-fold. "Our priority has been to ensure we maintain that capacity and choice for industry and tourism alike."

Stena announced its decision to withdraw its existing three-day Rosslare-Cherbourg service after "an extensive review" with the intention of strengthening the company’s investment in the Irish Sea, where it said it will strengthen its Irish Sea network. "We have recently announced investments of almost £40m in our Liverpool and Belfast terminals, as well as the upgrading of the Fishguard port infrastructure. We will also be increasing capacity across the Irish Sea with two new freight vessels planned for the Belfast–Heysham route and an additional freight vessel for the Dublin–Liverpool route,"  said Stena trade director Johan Edelman.