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Brittany Ferries commits to twice-weekly Cork/Roscoff sailings as company celebrates 45-year partnership with Port of Cork
Brittany Ferries has confirmed that its new midweek sailing connecting Cork with France will become a permanent feature of the company’s sailing schedule, further reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to Ireland, Irish tourism and the Port of Cork.
The Wednesday sailing is part of a new three-year deal signed by the Port of Cork Company (PoCC) and Brittany Ferries that was revealed at a reception held on board Armorique which docked in Ringaskiddy, Cork today, Wednesday April 6th.
The event was hosted by Brittany Ferries’ President, Jean-Marc Roué, Honorary Consul for Ireland in Brittany, and celebrated the strong commercial partnership that it has shared with PoCC for 45 years. Also in attendance was Brittany Ferries’ Chief Executive, Christophe Mathieu, and Port of Cork Chairman, Michael Walsh, as well as senior representatives from Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and local business and tourism stakeholders.
The new overnight weekly Roscoff Armorique sailing, which is additional to the popular Pont-Aven, the flagship of the Brittany Ferries fleet which sails on Saturdays to Roscoff, enhances the options for passengers and will cater for the high demand and bookings already being seen for the route for 2022 and beyond.
Brittany Ferries’ President, Jean-Marc Roué, Honorary Consul for Ireland in Brittany stated:
“Our relationship with Cork and indeed with Ireland has always been a happy and successful relationship. While the last two years have been difficult for us all, I am delighted to be in a position to confirm that this year our early bookings are up by over 35% on 2019 which was our last normal year due to Covid.
“While most commentators focus on our numbers of Irish holidaymakers heading for France, the reality is that Brittany Ferries makes a larger contribution to Irish tourism. This year, once again, the split in our tourism traffic is 55% /45% in favour of the French taking a holiday in Ireland. I have no doubt that our expanded service will enhance these figures even more. The successful promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way in France and the ease of access to that product from Cork, along with the famous Irish welcome, has always been a compelling proposition for French holidaymakers”.
Port of Cork Company Chief Executive, Eoin McGettigan, stated:
“This is a special day that not only celebrates our valued partnership with Brittany Ferries which proudly spans over four decades, but we also celebrate new beginnings with the addition of a new weekly sailing between Cork and France. Today, we are honoured also to be able to show Monsieur Roué and his colleagues the significant investment we have made to the Ringaskiddy facility.
“These investments from the Port of Cork and from Brittany Ferries are symbols of optimism, ambition and celebrate the long-awaited ability for people both in Ireland and France to enjoy renewed freedom after such a challenging two-year period. We are greatly looking forward to seeing a strong and welcome return to tourism and travel between our beautiful countries.”
According to Tourism Ireland CEO, Niall Gibbons, the new sailing has the potential to generate 4.3 M€ from a tourism perspective:
“As we restart overseas tourism to Ireland this year, the announcement that Brittany Ferries’ Armorique will operate between Roscoff and Cork this summer is very good news and a real vote of confidence in Irish tourism. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct access cannot be overstated – it is absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism. We already work very closely with Brittany Ferries and we look forward to cooperating with them to maximise the promotion of their services using Armorique.
“France is one of our top four markets for Irish tourism and in 2019, we welcomed 557,000 visitors from France to the island of Ireland, whose visits delivered €283 million to the economy. We are rolling out an extensive programme of promotional activity in France throughout 2022. Our message is very simple: Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back visitors from France.”
The Brittany Ferries Roscoff to Cork sailings run from April to October 2022. For more information visit brittany-ferries.ie
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About Brittany Ferries:
Brittany Ferries was conceived in 1972, starting life as a freight-only service on 2nd January the following year. The first sailing linked Roscoff in Brittany with Plymouth in the South of England and carried a cargo of artichokes and cauliflowers. Since then the company has progressively launched, then strengthened shipping routes. Today millions of passengers and businesses transporting goods by sea across the so-called Atlantic Arc (France, UK, Spain and Ireland) rely on the links forged through six decades of operation. In addition to cutting congestion and emissions on busy roads, these motorways-of the sea have helped enrich local communities, creating jobs and nurturing international tourism.
More details here: https://corporate.brittany-ferries.com/en/press.aspx
Key figures (2020):
- Revenue: €202.4 million (€469 million in 2019)
- Fleet renewal: Four new vessels on the horizon, two powered by LNG entering service in 2022 and 2023; two LNG-hybrid powered ships arriving in the years that follow
- Employment: 2,474 employees, including 1,600 seafarers (full-time equivalent)
- Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (2,498,354 in 2019)
- Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (201,554 in 2019)
- 12 vessels connecting France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland, via 14 maritime routes
- 12 ports: Roscoff, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Poole, Cork, Rosslare, Santander, Bilbao.
- Tourist impact: 231,000 unique visitors to France, generating 2.6 million overnight stays in 2020 (857,000 in 2019 with 8.7 million overnight stays in 2019)
About Port of Cork Company:
The Port of Cork is the world’s second largest natural harbour and is a key international gateway for trade. It is the key seaport in the south of Ireland and is one of the three Ports of National Significance (Tier 1) as designated by National Ports Policy.
As a multi-model port it is only one of two ports in Ireland to service all six shipping modes – lift on/ lift off, roll on/ roll off, liquid bulk, dry bulk, break bulk and cruise.
The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) is a commercial semi-state company responsible for the broad range of commercial running of Cork harbour as well as the navigation and berthage in the port.
In 2020, PoCC reported a traffic throughput of 10.5 million tonnes. The PoCC’s direct workforce is 150 staff, however it supports thousands of jobs through indirect employment through warehouses, hauliers and shipping agents.
PoCC is a hugely important catalyst for trade and employment, offering direct connectivity to a global supply chain particularly for FDI. 35 of its top customers are from industries such as Med-Tec, Pharma, IT, chemical and Agri-Food accounting for €145billion of manufacturing and supporting over 45,000 jobs directly in the southwest region.
The Port of Cork Company’s facilities and operations are situated at four distinct locations in Cork’s natural deep water harbour: The City Quays provide the service for bulks, both Tivol and Ringaskiddy provide the lift on/ lift off, roll-on/ roll off and bulks services, while Cobh caters for cruise liners with Ireland’s only dedicated deep-water berth for cruise ships.
This is one of the most exciting periods of growth and investment for Port of Cork Company with a number of significant investment and redevelopment projects underway, including the €86 million investment towards its new deepwater Cork Container Terminal (CCT) in Ringaskiddy which is due to officially open in 2022. This is all part of the PoCC’s strategic efforts to enhance and future proof its offering and positioning as an international gateway for trade.