A WEEKLY CROSSING between Cherbourg and Rosslare operated by Brittany Ferries will start on Monday two months earlier than planned in the wake of Brexit.

Brittany Ferries has moved up the start of the route from March to Monday, 18 January.

Cap Finistère, the fastest ship in the ferry company’s fleet, will cover the route between Cherbourg and Rosslare.

On Mondays, the ship will depart from Rosslare at 8pm and arrive in Cherbourg at 1.30pm the next day before leaving again at 4.45pm and returning to Ireland at 7am on Wednesday morning.

During the rest of the week, it will make two crossings between Rosslare and Bilbao in Spain.

The ship is 204 metres long and weighs 33,000 gross tonnes.

In a statement, Brittany Ferries said it was moving to “support the freight sector and to meet the needs of an industry battling Brexit”.

“Irish and French hauliers have traditionally relied on the UK-land bridge when transporting goods to and from mainland Europe,” the ferry company said.

“However, since the beginning of the year, more companies have sought an alternative to the additional administration, new formalities, greater costs and potential delays that come from carrying goods though the UK,” it said.

General manager of Rosslare Europort Glenn Carr said that the port welcomed the “swift response to the needs of the Irish industry in commencing this year’s Rosslare to Cherbourg services two months earlier than planned”.

Stena Line has also announced the start of a service between Dublin and Cherbourg from next Saturday.

Speaking on The Business on RTÉ Radio One this morning, Stena Line’s Trade Director for the Irish Sea Paul Grant said that it was rearranging some of its services to align with demand post-Brexit.