A proposal to restore a new, direct freight and passenger ferry route from Rosyth to Europe has collapsed.

Forth Ports confirmed that the line from Rosyth to Dunkirk will not go ahead.

Discussions had taken place between Forth Ports, international ferry operator DFDS, and the operators of the Port of Dunkirk.

A spokesperson for Forth Ports said: “After many months of collaborative dialogue between all the relevant parties to seek a long-term sustainable way forward for the resurrection of a European ferry service at the Port of Rosyth, Forth Ports has confirmed that, after careful consideration, these discussions have not been able to be concluded, such that the service will not restart.

“Our position is based on a number of important economic factors which unfortunately impact the long-term viability of a ferry service in Rosyth.”

The Forth Ports spokesperson added: “The Port of Rosyth remains a key area for development of the Forth Green Freeport and our focus will now shift to delivering alternative activity at the port.

“We will continue to connect Scotland with the rest of the world through the container terminal at the Port of Grangemouth.”

Forth Ports’ majority shareholder is Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and its other owners include Australian pension funds Aware Super and Cbus, plus GLIL Infrastructure LLP (GLIL) — a joint venture between a number of English local government pension funds.