Scotland-Continent Ferry Service
A potential freight and passenger ferry service directly linking Scotland to the Continent is being planned for later in 2026. While MDS Transmodal worked with Scottish Enterprise at the turn of the century to launch the first service, it is now 8 years since a freight-only service stopped and some 16 years since passenger and freight services ceased. While the Scottish port would, as before, be Rosyth, the continental ports is planned to be Dunkirk in France.
Scotland is pretty well unique in the UK as a net exporter of goods to the EU and so it is not surprising that Scottish exporters and their hauliers would welcome a direct ferry connection to the European continental mainland, as it provides another option and additional capacity in the market.
As the service would be for both passengers and freight, the choice of port is always going to be a compromise – with freight mainly heading east towards Germany and Poland and Scottish passengers mainly wanting to drive south. Zeebrugge – the continental port for the original service - might be a better compromise than Dunkirk, but there may not be space for another service at the Belgian port. And DFDS, which seems to be the front runner to operate the service, already has a terminal at the French port.
The quay-to-quay crossing time of 20 hours is a long time to be on a ferry. Road hauliers do not usually want to incur the cost of a driver and tractor unit being unproductive and passenger demand is likely to be highly seasonal. This means that the service will therefore be reliant on freight on a year-round basis and Scotland is already reasonably well-served – at least for slower-moving unitised freight.
One of the traditional arguments for the service is that it reduces lorry miles and therefore generates environmental benefits. Data from the MDS Transmodal Containership Databank suggest there are five weekly container services to the Near Continent from Grangemouth and an additional three services each week from Greenock. The Central Belt is also served by a near daily direct rail freight service from the Central Belt to Teesport, with a connection to a thrice weekly RORO service to Zeebrugge. 43% of Scottish whisky exports, for example, are already routed via Teesport, and a further 3% via Liverpool (with both ports linked by rail to the Central Belt), with a further 27% via Grangemouth and Greenock. 73% of whisky exports are therefore already exported directly from Scotland or through English ports with good rail connections to Scotland.
DFDS seems to be planning to deploy only a single vessel during the launch phase, which is likely to be a prudent strategy. While a single ship would only be able to offer a departure in each direction every other day, it significantly reduces the risk for the operator, while demonstrating to its haulier customers that the service will be there for the long-term. Subject to demand, DFDS could in due course add a second vessel.