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P&O Ferries former Irish Sea Ropax to Strengthen North Sea Presence on New London–Rotterdam Freight Route

16th January 2024
After P&O Ferries closed the Dublin-Liverpool route last month, their former Irish Sea ropax Norbank is to open a new ro-ro route linking London (Tilbury)-Rotterdam, the registered homeport of the Dutch-flagged freight vessel which Afloat tracked leaving Merseyside in late December and arrive in the Netherlands. Originally, Norbank began a career with North Sea Ferries/which became part of P&O. Whereas, twin, Norbay which also served the Liverpool link, continues to operate from Dublin but on charter to ICG/Irish Ferries, connecting Cherbourg, France.
After P&O Ferries closed the Dublin-Liverpool route last month, their former Irish Sea ropax Norbank is to open a new ro-ro route linking London (Tilbury)-Rotterdam, the registered homeport of the Dutch-flagged freight vessel which Afloat tracked leaving Merseyside in late December and arrive in the Netherlands. Originally, Norbank began a career with North Sea Ferries/which became part of P&O. Whereas, twin, Norbay which also served the Liverpool link, continues to operate from Dublin but on charter to ICG/Irish Ferries, connecting Cherbourg, France. Credit: Jehan Ashmore

Operator P&O Ferries which closed the Dublin-Liverpool route last month, has announced a new ro-ro freight route in the North Sea, between London (Tilbury 2) and the Dutch port of Rotterdam (Europoort) which is to start in March.

The UK-Netherlands route will complement P&O Ferries’ existing route to Belgium, the London-Zeebrugge route which together strengthens its rail-connected hub in Rotterdam.

Peter Hebblethwaite, P&O Ferries’ CEO, said: “The opening of our new route between London and Rotterdam gives P&O Ferries a unique network in the North Sea. We now have five hubs: Hull, Teesport, Tilbury, Zeebrugge and Europoort, connecting the north-east and south- east of England with the continent".

“We will offer our freight customers the earliest arrival on the Thames from Rotterdam, along with swift access to the M25 and terminal rail connections.

“The opening of the London - Rotterdam route will mark another significant step in our business transformation and further contribute to the end-to-end logistics service offered by our parent company, DP World.”

The new route will be served by the 125 freight-unit capacity Norbank, which in a ropax role recently ran on the Irish Sea route which closed with a final sailing from the Irish capital on 20 December.

The 17,464 gross tonnage vessel, Afloat.ie tracked the final departure from Merseyside on 26 December with the vessel arriving at the Dutch port two days later from where it will sail on a daily schedule with customer-focused sailing times including an early arrival in London, enabling on-time local delivery.

P&O Ferries operates services in the North Sea from three east coast UK ports – Hull, London and Teesport – and two ports in northern Europe at Zeebrugge,Belgium and Rotterdam.

Norbank, Afloat also adds is currently providing dry-dock relief cover on vessels that routinely serve the Hull-Rotterdam route.

Published in Ferry
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!