Freight News, Sea


Rosyth ro ro ‘when, not if’

[ January 20, 2026   //   ]

Launch of a ro ro service between the port of Roysth in Scotland and Dunkirk “is a question of when, not if,” the deputy chief executive of the French port, Daniel Deschodt told a press conference on 20 January.

Some regulatory hurdles still need to be overcome before the service can start, at least for freight, including the current lack of a Border Control Post (BCP) in Rosyth for agri goods.

Scottish Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity Jim Fairlie has instructed officials to prepare a consultation on legislation that would allow products arriving in Rosyth to be checked at the BCP in Grangemouth, and this legislation still needs to be passed by the Scottish Government, Deschodt told the conference. But he added: “As soons as this is overcome, we will be ready to roll and customers are already there.”

The press conference was later told that the start date could be some time in 2026 or 2027 and also that the port considers that Scotland has even greater market potential than Ireland, with which it already enjoys direct ro ro links.

There have been no direct ro ro services from Scotland to Europe since Maersk ended its operation in April 2018 but DFDS has been working with the Scottish Government on a freight and passenger vessel service to and from Dunkirk, three times per week with a sailing time of twenty hours during 2026.

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