Up to 50,000 calves or a quarter of total calf exports could be shipped this spring on a ‘walk-on walk-off’ vessel ,which is currently seeking approval.

Discussions are ongoing around plans to sail 5,000 calves weekly from Ireland, directly to the Netherlands.

It is envisaged that the ship, if approved, will be operational on the new route from early March 2025.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the vessel is being leased by a new business entity, which is jointly owned by Irish and Danish interests.

The vessel will sail once a week from Waterford directly to a Dutch port, for up to 10 weeks in the spring.

This means that it could take close to 50,000 calves in total during the busiest period of the calf export season.

Given that Dutch buyers took 78,000 Irish calves in 2024, the new vessel could transport almost two-thirds of the total number required by Holland’s veal units.

Contacts between calf buyers in the Netherlands and the operators of the new vessel have been facilitated by Bord Bia.

Automatic calf feeders are in the process of being fitted on the ship. As calves will be fed and bedded during transit, the operators envisage that there will be no need for lairage facilities on the continent.

The boat will be permanently docked in Ireland, with Waterford Port its most likely base. In the off-season, store and mature cattle will be transported on the vessel.

The proposed new ship and route will be warmly welcomed by farmers, as it will provide additional capacity during the peak calf export months of March and April.

Stena Line and Irish Ferries carried the vast bulk of the 200,000 calves which Ireland exported this year.

However, the ferries have insufficient capacity to handle the peak export period when close to 13,000 to 14,000 calves a week are being moved.

Capacity is also an issue when weather disrupts sailings and there is a backlog of calves for export as a consequence.