Brittany Ferries is to add a third weekly return-sailing, connecting Cherbourg with Rosslare, starting on Monday 29 April. The company says the move will boost connectivity ahead of the arrival of its rail-ferry service in 2025. Ferroutage will link Bayonne with Cherbourg by rail, carrying trailers for onward transport by ferry.

“The addition of a third weekly rotation from Cherbourg is great news for hauliers and logistics companies,” said Christophe Mathieu CEO Brittany Ferries. “It means even more opportunity for operators to by-pass the UK entirely, cutting down on bureaucracy and delays that can occur the UK border.”

The service will leave Cherbourg at 18:20 local time on Monday, arriving Rosslare at 14:00 on Tuesday. It will then depart Rosslare at 18:00 destined for arrival in Cherbourg on Wednesday at 17:00. The return overnight ferry to Portsmouth leaves at 20:00.

Brittany Ferries has chartered Condor’s ferry the Commodore Clipper for the service, which will also include addition sailings to and from Portsmouth. Clipper will be chartered to the company for around half the week: the other half it will continue to be used by Condor to serve the Channel Islands.

In addition to three weekly rotations linking Rosslare with Cherbourg, Brittany Ferries operates two weekly Cork-Roscoff round-trips. The company has massively grown the direct Ireland-France market since 2021 and has re-affirmed its committed to freight and passenger traffic.

Since 2021, freight volumes on France to Ireland routes have grown by 96% to 7,734 units. Passenger volumes have reported a fivefold increase in volumes from 28,584 to 146,351 in the same period.