SHIPPING NEWS
WWW.EXPORTANDFREIGHT.COM
SEATRUCK FERRIES SUCCESSFULLY WEATHERS BREXIT & COVID-19 PANDEMIC STORMS While ferry companies, like many other businesses, have been battered on a number of fronts over the past two years, not least because of Brexit and Covid-19 lockdowns, the operational model employed by Seatruck Ferries has successfully weathered those storms, as Export & Freight’s David Stokes has discovered. Having celebrated 25 years of steady growth on the Irish Sea in 2021, Seatruck Ferries is looking to the future with confidence, and with good reason, as it sees its unaccompanied freight only service in increasing demand. The company, headed up by Chief Executive Officer Alistair Eagles, began its Warrenpoint service in May 1996 and today operates three routes: Dublin – Liverpool; Dublin – Heysham; and Warrenpoint -Heysham. Combined, the service moves hundreds of thousands of trailers per year ranging from tippers, tanks, flats, refrigerated and hazardous units on crossing which are serviced by six vessels, four of which can carry up to 140 vehicles, the other two just over 100 vehicles.“We have another two vessels on charter, one to Stena Line, the other to P&O Ferries, which gives us the capacity for further growth if and when volumes increase, which we believe they will,” says Alistair. Among reasons for that optimism is the continuing driver shortage which has been exacerbated by the fallout from
66
EXPORT&FREIGHT
Brexit. “Even before we left the European Union there was a severe driver shortage, and that’s only got worse. Today, transport companies need to look at how best they can utilise their drivers; having them sit on a ferry crossing probably isn’t the most effective way to do so, which is why sending freight unaccompanied can be a much better option in many cases.” And there is another reason: consideration for the environment. “More and more companies are focused on the environment. Using an unaccompanied freight service clearly cuts down on road miles and therefore reduces harmful emissions.” Those arguments certainly stack up when looking at recent statistics. “When we first launched 25 years ago, 70% of freight on the Irish Sea was driver accompanied, but according to the latest quarterly report from the IMDO, 70% of total traffic on the Irish Sea in the 3rd quarter of 2021was unaccompanied. That’s a complete reverse, and the market continues to
move in that direction,” adds Alistair. Contributing to those figures, no doubt, is the fact that many drivers wanted to maintain social distancing and that was made easier by utilising an unaccompanied freight only service as it kept them off ferries and out of harm’s way. At one stage, Seatruck ferries stopped shipping any HGV drivers or any other passengers on its Irish Sea vessels. “Although our Irish Sea services ran as normal they were restricted to the shipment of drop trailers and unaccompanied trade vehicles. Customers who normally moved driver accompanied vehicles on our services were still able to move their traffic, albeit on an unaccompanied trailer only basis.” “To further protect the crews, we cancelled all but critical maintenance that involved shore technicians coming onboard. Crew also stayed on the vessel and didn’t get off when in port. Cleaning regimes
