One of the lairage operators at the French port of Cherbourg will have the capacity to receive an additional 1,200 calves per sailing – or 3,600 per week – from next week.
Pignet’s, the smaller of the two operators, received official approval today, Saturday, March 14, to increase the amount of calves it receives.
This brings the total available lairage space between the two operators to 16,800 per week.
“Weather permitting, three sailings a week take place with two ships between Dublin/Rosslare and Cherbourg – from next week, they will have an effective capacity of 16,800 calves per week when all sailings can depart,” Phelan commented.
“This is a positive development which will effectively cater for peak, and minimise capacity pressure when storms prevent some sailings,” he added.
This confirmation follows on from the announcement earlier this month that the lairage facilities had seen their overall capacity increased by 600.
Speaking to AgriLand on March 6, a representative of the IFA confirmed that, as a result of the approval granted, one lairage operator in the French town would be able to accommodate an additional two trucks, or the equivalent of 600 calves.
This follows more than a year of discussions between IFA representatives and the two main lairage operators in Cherbourg regarding investing in additional facilities to accommodate more calves coming from Ireland.