By
Alex Smith |
Brittany Ferries is to provide additional sailings from Rosslare, Ireland, to Cherbourg, France, after the withdrawal of Stena Line from the route.
Departures will rise from five to seven every week from October 2025. This will include a new Tuesday evening departure at 21:00, with full schedules to be published shortly. Several ships previously scheduled to be taken out of service over the winter are now expected to serve on the route, including Galicia and Pont-Aven.
“Brittany Ferries is a company that prides itself on its ability to move quickly when opportunity knocks,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries. “News that our competitor was stepping back, started the firing pistol on a concerted efforted to secure port slots and better serve customers in Ireland and France. I am delighted that we can confirm this increase in capacity on the Cherbourg Rosslare route and we thank Rosslare Europort and the Port of Cherbourg for their support. It means greater choice for holidaymakers and even more opportunity for freight operators seeking to bypass the UK entirely, cutting down on bureaucracy and delays at the UK border.”
Brittany Ferries launched a Rosslare to Cherbourg service in 2021. Passenger volumes on the route increase by nearly 40 per cent in 2025, while freight units doubled.
“We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Brittany Ferries and welcome their expansion to a daily service in each direction on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route,” said Glenn Carr, director of commercial business units for Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail, the Port Authority for Rosslare Europort. “Since Brexit, direct sailings between Rosslare Europort and the European continent have increased six-fold, and our priority has been to ensure we maintain that capacity and choice for industry and tourism alike. There has been intense interest in additional Rosslare to Cherbourg sailings, and Brittany Ferries have demonstrated their can-do attitude by confirming this expansion with us so quickly, capitalising on the strength of the route for passenger and freight markets alike.”
“As soon as the announcement was made at the end of June that berthing slots would be freed up in Cherbourg and Rosslare, Ports de Normandie and Cherbourg Port took action to fill the gaps, because it is essential to retain our customers by offering them a regular and continuous service,” said Philippe Deiss, spokesman for Ports de Normandie. “We are delighted that both sides of the Channel have chosen the proposal put forward by Brittany Ferries, a company with which we have a long-standing relationship and whose quality of service is universally recognised. With this joint decision by the ports of Rosslare and Cherbourg and Brittany Ferries, we are confident that traffic to Ireland, where Cherbourg is the leader in France, will continue to grow.”