Brexit significantly affected freight transport between Ireland and Britain

Trade frictions after Brexit have "significantly changed" freight traffic between Ireland and Britain and brought a sharp increase in traffic from Ireland to the Member States of the European Union. A report by an Irish government agency showed this on Thursday. The introduction of controls on certain goods after Britain left the customs union and the EU single market on 31 December 2020 reduced imports from Britain to Ireland by 35 per cent in the first five months of 2021. At the same time, the number of transport routes to continental Europe more than doubled. In the second quarter of 2021, traffic between Irish and British ports was 20 percent lower than in the same period in 2019, the last year before the new coronavirus pandemic broke out. On the other hand, traffic volumes between Ireland and the EU have risen 99 percent since the second quarter of 2019, according to the Irish Maritime Development Authority (IMDO). However, total traffic from Ireland was 0.2 percent lower than in the second quarter of 2019. The most significant factor in these changes was that traders stopped using the once faster British "land bridge" when carriers had previously made a short sea voyage between Dublin and Holyhead in Wales, crossed Britain and then another ferry to continental Europe. According to the IMDO quarterly report, many are avoiding this route due to fears of delays after the introduction of new customs controls in Britain. "It is clear that after the first six months of Brexit, the configuration of Irish traffic has changed significantly," the agency said, referring to the new trade measures. Traffic between Irish and British ports now accounts for 67 percent of total traffic, compared to 84 percent two years ago. Direct routes to the EU doubled their share to 33 percent. However, according to the IMDO, this does not automatically mean more trade with other EU Member States, but rather a reconfiguration of supply chains outside the British land bridge. Freight traffic through ports in Northern Ireland has also risen to its highest level since 2007, as carriers that used the port of Dublin before Brexit instead send goods directly from Northern Ireland.