50 jobs to be lost as shipping company withdraws from Dublin port

ONE of the largest shipping companies operating out of Dublin has decided to withdraw from the port, with the loss of 50 jobs.

The Dutch company DFDS will withdraw from its Dublin-Birkenhead and Dublin-Heysham routes from the end of the month.

Last month the company, which also runs routes to Belfast, revealed that its Irish routes had lost more than €30 million over the previous two years. At that point it announced it was selling its Belfast routes to Stena Line and that it was going to conduct a review of the operations out of Dublin.

That review is now complete and the company says it is simply not viable to maintain the operation and that it was shutting it down.

“In recent years the routes have made substantial losses due to considerable over capacity on the market,” it said. “This is a result of a sharp decline in demand since 2008 and a lack of adjustment of capacity in the market. Against this background it has not been possible to develop a business plan that would lead to a significant result improvement within a reasonable period of time.”

Ken Fleming of SIPTU, which represents the bulk of the Dublin-based staff, said the closure of the company’s operations was a most serious development for Dublin Port, as well as its workforce and for the crews and other employees of DFDS.

“DFDS is a Dutch company which is registered in Europe and its employees are fairly paid and well treated,” he said, adding that it was clear that the decision has been due to over-capacity in the business and the over-issuing of licences to shipping companies at a time when the Irish ferry trade is stagnant. “It is a direct result of the policy of over-issuing licences to shipping companies which has resulted in ship owners driving down wages and conditions below the legal minimum wage and safety standards,” he said.