A new direct ferry service linking Rosyth on the east coast of Scotland and Dunkirk in France could open as early as 2025, according to DFDS, the ferry company who would be running the route.
The route is nicknamed ‘Project Brave’, and the idea for it was first aired in 2022. According to the Metro, it lacked the required funding at that time - with an estimated £3 million apparently required to get the route up and running. Talks have restarted again, however, and the creation of the route - which would run three weekly return trips - now once again looks like a real possibility.
If the route is a success, it could lead to further routes between Scotland and northern Germany or Scandinavia.
Rosyth is extremely conveniently placed on the east coast of Scotland. It sits on the coast of the Firth of Forth in Fife, just outside of Scotland’s newest city, Dunfermline, with easy access to one of Scotland's Great Trails, the Fife Coastal Path. The cruise terminal in Rosyth is only a 30-minute drive from Edinburgh, and Rosyth can also be reached in under half an hour from Edinburgh by train.
The route will be a long one, though - not for those who get sea sick easily. It is set to last around 20 hours one-way and thus, it will be one of the longest sea journeys available in Europe (the route which currently holds that record being the Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry crossing, which can take up to 30 hours in total).
Graeme Downie, who is the MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, was the one who previously estimated the required cash for the route at that £3 million mark, but he also noted it would bring in more to the Scottish economy. “It is estimated the direct ferry link would initially carry 51,000 passengers a year, rising to 79,000, bringing an additional £11.5 million of spend to the Scottish economy,” he said.
A past service from Rosyth to Zeebrugge in Belgium was discontinued in 2010, and there are currently no currently no public ferry routes leaving from Rosyth to international destinations.
There are, of course, a plethora of ferry routes running between the Scottish mainland and the various islands of the country, and there are a range of links between the UK and Ireland. Current international UK ferry routes include:
- Newcastle to Amsterdam
- Hull to Rotterdam
- Portsmouth to Caen; St. Malo; Bilbao; Le Havre; Cherbourg
- Plymouth to Santander
- Dover to Calais; Dunkirk
- Harwick to Hook of Holland
While a long journey, the Rosyth-Dunkirk route would provide a fantastic new, flight-free travel option for those travelling between Scotland and France. Voices involved in the project have even suggested that, if the route is a success, it could lead to further routes between Scotland and northern Germany or Scandinavia.
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