Port authorities in Cherbourg say a protest by French fishermen, which trapped 25 Irish truck drivers inside a compound for four days, has ended.
They say the blockade has now been lifted.
The drivers arrived at the port on Friday morning on board the Diplomat from Rosslare.
They were prevented from removing their trucks from the harbour compound.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, Chris Smyth from Irish transport company Perennial Freight welcomed the ending of the protest but said the action could flare up again later this week.
Fuel protests spread across Europe
Angry French fishermen blockaded a key Mediterranean oil depot and halted cross-Channel ferries at Dunkirk as they resumed their protests over fuel prices and EU fishing quotas.
Fishermen set up a new roadblock cutting access to the Fos-sur-Mer oil depot near France's biggest port, Marseille, but they lifted a separate blockade of a depot in nearby Lavera.
In Dunkirk, 75 fishermen were blocking access to the ferry port, while in Boulogne-sur-Mer they stopped two trucks carrying Norwegian salmon from reaching a local fish factory.
Fleets along France's Atlantic coast agreed at the weekend to head back to sea, after the government promised aid to compensate for diesel costs.
But fishermen from a dozen French ports voted yesterday to extend their blockades, as protests by fishing fleets threatened to spread across Europe.
Spanish fleets joined the stoppage yesterday and Italian and Greek fishermen may also join in later this week.
And Spanish lorry drivers have joined the fishermen in calling for government help to cover soaring fuel costs.
In the UK, convoys of trucks converged on London. Hauliers say the sharp rise in fuel costs has put many of their businesses at risk and added to inflationary pressures as the rising costs trickle down into the prices of goods in shops.
They are seeking special government subsidies.
The protests are expected to cause traffic chaos in and around London with road closures and go-slows.
A similar protest also took place in Wales as heavy trucks headed to Cardiff.
Organisers said they expected up to 1,000 trucks to take part in the London protest, which will culminate in a petition being handed in to Gordon Brown's Downing Street office.
