Rosyth-Dunkirk ferry faces further delays, 2025 launch unlikely

The planned new ferry route between Rosyth in Scotland and Dunkirk (Nord) has been delayed once more and now looks unlikely to be up and running before 2026.

DFDS, the ferry operator planning the route, said last year that it aimed to start a three-times-a-week service from spring 2025.

However, it admitted in January that the project had been delayed.

According to media reports, the company had asked the Scottish government for grants to cover the cost of installing the necessary passenger-handling facilities and other customs-related equipment at Rosyth.

More recently, Labour MP Kirsty McNeill has said discussions are planned in the coming weeks between the UK government and DFDS to move the project forward.

Port still not ready

However, a spokesman for DFDS said he had heard nothing more since speaking to The Connexion in January.

“Given the time that it will take to get the service up and running, that means I do not see the service starting this summer,” he said.

The Scottish government said in a statement that it fully supports the development of the country’s ports and the potential for new passenger ferry services linking it to mainland Europe.

It added that the UK government still needed to negotiate new plant and animal health rules for UK-EU trips.

These have been agreed as part of a recent summit between the two, but have not been finalised and implemented.

For its part, DFDS reportedly has a ship for the route, and on the French side, Dunkirk port is fully ready for the service to begin.

Once operational, close to 80,000 annual passengers are forecast to use the service.