Unaccompanied trailer freight via UK, Irish and European ports

Because no driver crosses with the trailer, you're not paying for driver time on board or worrying about driver hours over a long sailing. The trailer is dropped at the UK port, shipped on a ro-ro freight ferry, and collected at the other port by a local haulier for delivery.

When to choose unaccompanied

• Regular flows where cost matters more than a few hours
• Longer North Sea and Irish Sea crossings
• Full trailer loads and containers
• Goods that don't need a driver's attention on the crossing
• Lower-carbon moves, with the sea doing more of the work

Main unaccompanied routes

How an unaccompanied move works

1. Collection: a UK haulier collects the loaded trailer or container from your site.
2. Drop at the port: the trailer is dropped at the UK port for the booked sailing.
3. Customs: we lodge the export declaration and any transit document, and pass the references to the ferry operator.
4. Crossing: the trailer sails on a ro-ro freight ferry, usually overnight.
5. Collection at the other side: a local haulier collects it at the destination port and delivers it.
6. Import clearance: we clear the goods on arrival, so delivery isn't held up.

Customs on unaccompanied freight

As with accompanied loads, goods moving between Great Britain and the EU need declarations on both sides, and the ferry operator needs the customs references before the trailer can be shipped or released. Ireland follows EU rules, and Northern Ireland has its own arrangements under the Windsor Framework.

Trailers, containers and equipment

We move curtainsiders, box trailers, fridge trailers and containers unaccompanied. If you don't have your own trailers, we can arrange the equipment as well as the crossing and the haulage at both ends.