Roll on Roll off traffic between Ireland & UK fell 22% in 2021

RoRo ferry traffic from Irish to British ports fell by 22% last year due to Brexit.

This was due to a reduced use of the UK landbridge, as well as the movement of freight between Northern Ireland and Britain.

Meanwhile, traffic between Ireland and continental Europe rose by 94%.

Based on report data contained in the latest edition of the Irish Maritime Transport Economist (2022), one third of all RoRo traffic now originates from direct routes to Europe, compared to 17% in recent years.

Throughout the year, the number of sailings between Ireland and mainland European ports more than doubled from 30 to over 60.  

During the same period, load on load off (LoLo) traffic, which primarily travels directly to mainland Europe, increased to record levels, growing by 11% (IMDO, 2022)