Rosslare Europort
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Rosslare Europort (Irish: Calafort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, at the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France.
The port, formerly called Rosslare Harbour, is operated by Iarnród Éireann, Ireland's national railway operator, which provides direct services to Limerick and Dublin from Rosslare Europort railway station — see rail transport in Ireland.
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The harbour currently has four berths [1]. Passenger ferries operate to and from Fishguard and Pembroke Dock in Wales as well as Cherbourg and Roscoff in France. Freight services operate to and from Le Havre in France.
An all weather lifeboat of the RNLI is on station in the port, and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Waterford Airport provides air-sea rescue cover [2], [3].
An automatic weather station is maintained adjacent to the port by Met Éireann [4]
The port was recently used as a trans-shipment port for components of the wind turbines intended for erection at the Arklow Bank windfarm.
The port also receives ships importing new cars into the country. The importer depots can be seen in Rosslare Harbour Village.
The port area is largely built on reclaimed land. Reclamation work continued right through to the late 1990s, when the northwest part of the port was constructed using a dragline. Modernisation of facilities has continued to reflect the drop in foot passengers and the increase in cars carried on the ferries.
Facilities in the terminal building include a bar and restaurant, car hire, a shop, and the ferry company desks. A railway platform occupies part of the building and bus services to Wexford, Dublin, Cork and Limerick leave from just outside.
The port suffers at all times of the year by being extremely exposed to the eastern Atlantic weather. This often causes delays to ferries operating from the port, especially those of the fast-craft type.
The forbidding of the sale of Duty free goods inside the EU has harmed the port of Rosslare immensely. During the last years of the availability of Duty Free drink and cigarettes on board the ferries, Day Trips to Wales were popular with many. People were able to enjoy the novelty of a short cruise while stocking up on large amounts of cheap alcohol and cigarettes for use at home. The end of Duty Free and ever-decreasing airline fares to the UK has seen the decline of foot passenger trade to Rosslare. Excursions to Oakwood theme park still attract foot passengers during the summer.
Freight is extremely important to Rosslare Europort. Each year a vast amount of goods pass through Rosslare inbound from the UK and the Continent, only to be replaced on the outbound ferries by exports for other countries. Most of the freight travels in 12m (40ft) trailers.
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