Sixteen new route from UK this yea
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A LORRY DRIVER waiting at Dover has a better chance of catching a boat to the Continent within a few minutes than a commuter at a typical London Transport stop has of getting a bus quickly — that's the measure of the phenomenal growth in freight roll-on/roll-off ser vices. And there are fewer ro-ro cancellations.
Our 1980 Ro-ro Guide shows 74 ferries a day leaving Dover.
In all there are 16 new routes from Britain this year — including Middlesbrough to Gdynia, Poland.
The other new routes are from Grangemouth to Copenhagen, Fredrikstad, Helsingborg, Helsinki, Kristiansand, Larvik, Oslo, Rotterdam and Turku; Middlesbrough to Aarhus; Felixstowe to Helsingborg and Helsinki: King's Lynn! to Amsterdam; Purfleet to Turku and Mantyluoto: and Pembroke to Rosslare.
Townsend Thoresen's 8000ton Spirit of Free Enterprise was the first of three multi-purpose ferries coming into service for this line this year. It entered service at Dover in January.
IT has also introduced freight capacity on its Portsmouth routes, Townsend Thoresen is part of the European Ferries Group which owns Felixstowe Dock.
Felixstowe serves Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. The group also operates a freight service between Larne and Cairnryan — the shortest Irish Sea crossing.
All types of wheeled traffic can be accommodated on all TT's freight ships whether driver accompanied or not, and containers can be carried on the company's slave trailers. There are plug-in points for refrigerated vehicles and facilities are available for hazardous or abnormal loads.
-.wansea could have ro-ro by tnis time next year. The British Transport Docks Board is launching a marketing drive this month to re-establish ro-ro services from its ferryport there. The BTDB is selling the concept to shipping lines in the UK and elsewhere.
The Board's assistant marketing manager, Margaret Llewellyn, said: "'Our market research has revealed a substantial demand for ro-ro services out of Swansea.
"The demand is mainly from exporters and importers in the Midlands, South Wales and the South West, but there is increasing interest from people throughout the UK.
"For example, a lot of hauliers want to avoid the long trip, along minor roads, to existing Irish Sea ferry services, and this is where a new crossing, based at Swansea, would really score. The Swansea Ferryport has fast motorway and rail links to the rest of Britain, and, of course, it is right alongside the South Wales industrial belt."
The Swansea Ferryport complex, which was built in 1969, consists of a 450ft tidal berth, served by one of the largest shore bridges in Britain. Vessels drawing up to 16ft can be accommodated on all tides. Swansea has a remarkably strike-free record. Another factor in its favour is its good positioning for sea routes Iberia, the Mediterranean ar West Africa.
The other big ferry operate are Sealink — the biggest the is — and P&O.
Sealink brings out comprehensive informatic circular and it was through th that we first learned that tt French had changed their spe( limits again last October. E warned — they are: