Ferry operator DFDS said it could run three weekly trips between Dunkerque and Rosyth, near Edinburgh, with an estimated journey time of around 20 hours - making it one of the longest ferry journeys in Europe.
Currently, the longest journey across the continent is Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain, which lasts between 27 and 30 hours.
The new route, sometimes informally referred to as ‘Project Brave’ was first proposed in 2022, but never launched because of problems raising the estimated £3 million (€3.61million) needed to set-up the service
Graeme Downie, the Westminster MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, has said that the direct ferry link would, “initially carry 51,000 passengers a year, rising to 79,000”, and bring, “an additional £11.5 million of spend to the Scottish economy”.
An earlier passenger ferry transport link between Rosyth and Zeebrugge, in Belgium, launched in 2002. The route was scrapped in 2008, restarted in 2009 and stopped again in 2010.
DFDS then ran a freight-only service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge until 2018, until a fire onboard a freight ship prompted the closure of the route entirely.
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