Better co-operation between ferry companies could help solve future travel problems on the Island where services could be operating at full capacity within four years.

Genoese shipowner Aldo Grimaldi is to report Italian state-owned shipowner Tirrenia to the European Commission within the next two weeks, accusing it of violating regulations on state aid.

Heavily-indebted Sea Containers will be able to pay off around $503m of bank borrowings following the sale of Baltic ferry operator Silja that was completed today.

Spain's competition watchdog has cleared Trasmediterranea’s takeover of rival operator Euroferrys, which was majority owned by tour operators on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar.

French Mediterranean ferry operator Corsica Ferries has announced that it has paid Australian operator TT Lines E65m ($82.12m) to complete acquisition of the ferry vessel Spirit of Tasmania III.

Greece is deregulating its ferry services — so that routes and fares across its 240 ports will be opened to competition. Fifty of the least profitable routes are protected by government subsidies for now, but the busier routes will see fierce price wars.

A new freight and car ferry to Cherbourg and Jersey could be running by the end of the year.

Euroferries, the company that wanted to buy the Fast Ferry doesn't have it yet and the sale was supposed to be completed two months ago. But city officials said although it's taking a little longer than they would like to finalize the deal, they are confident this ship will still head overseas.

Italy will not be able to prevent ferry giant Tirrenia from falling into foreign hands following privatisation, the European Commission has warned.

Finland's competition watchdog has approved Baltic ferry operator Tallink's purchase of rival Silja Line from Sea Containers, it said on today.

Yarmouth's £45m outer harbour could open for business with no ferry operator in place, it was claimed last night.

The already famous submerged Androna rock outside Denia Harbor claimed another victim on Tuesday night after a Transmediterranea ferry ran aground on its stern as it was attempting to dock in the harbour.

A ferry operator has been awarded a six-year contract to take over services to Orkney and Shetland.

Newly privatised French Mediterranean ferry operator SNCM has apologised to some 3,000 passengers who found themselves stranded in the sizzling heat at the port of Marseilles on Monday following industrial action by seafarers, writes Andrew Spurrier in Paris.

Three thousand passengers remained stranded in the port of Marseilles yesterday after seafarers of newly-privatised ferry operator SNCM went on strike. About 2,200 passengers were prevented from boarding the Ile de Beauté and the Méditerranée destined for Algiers, while another 850 bound for Corsica were also forced to wait on the quayside.

Spanish ferry operator Acciona Trasmediterranea faces serious disruption from 15 July as seafarers take strike action over replacement of domestic seafarers with non-EU crews. Domestic cabotage services and links between northern Spain and the UK, and between southern Spain and North Africa are expected to be hit. Seafarers claim AT will axe up to 500 jobs in a move to cut costs. AT has denied the allegations but confirmed last week that it is negotiating a labour agreement with unions.