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Latest ferry news for February 2009
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LDA in surprise SeaFrance bid
Date: 20 Feb 2009 Source: Lloyds ListFrench shipping conglomerate Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) has launched a surprise bid to take control of loss-making Dover Strait ferry operator SeaFrance and merge it with its own fast-growing ferry subsidiary, LD Lines.
LDA told Lloyd’s List it had submitted a proposal to this effect to SeaFrance’s owner, French national rail operator SNCF, and that it was waiting for a reply.
The group believes it can avoid the 650 job cuts announced by SeaFrance this week through the creation of an enlarged group, which would bear the SeaFrance name but incorporate LD Lines’ Le Havre-Portsmouth, Dieppe-Newhaven, Dieppe-Dover and Boulogne-Dover services.
“We think a rapprochement would enable us to better use the existing fleet and safeguard jobs in the region,” said LDA general manager Pierre Géhanne.
He indicated the group was not necessarily targeting a complete takeover of SeaFrance. “SNCF should remain a partner,” he said.
He said LDA had never concealed its wish to establish itself in the Dover Strait, notably with the acquisition of SeaFrance or Norfolkline’s Dunkirk-Dover operation, but that, to date, neither company had been offered for sale. “When we understood that SeaFrance was having difficulties, we got out the dossier again,” he said.
Given that SeaFrance is due to start discussions with unions on its job-cutting plan in a few days, the takeover proposal will need to be discussed quickly. Mr Géhanne said it would need to be dealt with in “the month to come”.
LD Lines moved into the Dover Strait in its own right for the first time last week with the simultaneous launches of a twice-daily service between Boulogne sur Mer and Dover and a once-daily service between Dieppe and Dover.
These two services have been added to the existing services between Le Havre and Portsmouth and Dieppe and Newhaven.
SeaFrance operates solely between Calais and Dover but offers a high-frequency service using three car ferries and two freight vessels.
“A merger of the two companies into a big SeaFrance taking in LD Lines and SeaFrance with its headquarters in Calais could result in a French leader capable of facing up to the competition at a time when the economic situation is particularly difficult,” said Mr Géhanne.
SNCF declined to comment on LDA’s approach yesterday but said it was preparing a statement. Earlier this month, however, SNCF chairman Guillaume Pépy told French journalists the company was “very attached” to SeaFrance and had no plans to sell it.
HD Ferries: ‘We will not be coming back’
Date: 17 Feb 2009 Source: thisisjersey.comHD Ferries will not resume services from Jersey, the troubled firm said yesterday.
The operator, which suspended all winter sailings last September, ended months of speculation after announcing that re-starting the service from Jersey and Guernsey to France would not be commercially viable.
It also criticised the States for failing to help the firm create competition in a market dominated by a long-standing operator.
The firm is now actively looking to sell or lease its £12 million ship, HD1, which is moored in Newhaven in the UK. HD Ferries’ decision has left the Island with just one car-carrying ferry operator.
In a statement released yesterday, James Howe-Davies, chief executive officer at HD Ferries, said: ‘We very much regret not being able to resume services this year but we hope that our valued customers will appreciate that we could only continue operating if there was a genuine prospect of our services becoming viable within a reasonable period of time.’
Irish Ferries returns to full strength
Date: 17 Feb 2009 Source: TravelbiteIrish Ferries’ has confirmed its service will return to full strength from February 27th, with its Dublin Swift morning sailings reinstated following fuel cost reductions.
The vessel will then return to offering two return sailings each day between Holyhead and Dublin.
Commenting on the change Declan Mescall, head of passenger sales at Irish Ferries, said: "In these gloomy, recession-hit times we’re pleased to have some good news!
"The return of twice daily round-trip crossings with Dublin Swift means we are back in the number one position of offering the greatest frequency of fast ferry sailings on this route.
"With fuel costs now at a more reasonable level and with demand for fast crossings increasing as spring approaches, the time has come for her to resume full service."
With effect from February 27th, Irish Ferries sailings are as follows:
Holyhead/Dublin: Two return crossings daily on Dublin Swift (one hour and 49 minutes) and two return crossings daily on cruise ferry Ulysses (three hours and 15 minutes).
Pembroke/Rosslare: Two return crossings daily on cruise ferry Isle of Inishmore (three hours and 45 minutes).
For reservations, please visit our Irish Ferries page
£100m ferry in home waters
Date: 14 Feb 2009 Source: BBC NewsA new £100 million ferry which was purpose-built to serve the route from Plymouth to Roscoff has docked in Devon for the first time.
Brittany Ferries has launched Armorique, named after the ancient term for coastal north-west France, and now a part of the Brittany region.
She has replaced the ageing vessel Pont L'Abbé, which had served the firm for three decades.
David Longden, managing director of Brittany Ferries, said: "I like to refer to the old ship as an old lady, but well-dressed. This one is more of a fashion model."
One of the key features of the new vessel is the sheer amount of space. She can carry 1,500 passengers and 470 cars, with plenty of capacity for lorries and caravans. She can accommodate 800 guests in overnight cabins.
After only one crossing from France to Plymouth, the new ship has already shown her superiority. The journey normally takes six hours when under schedule. But she made the trip in just five hours – a new record.
She is now expected to serve for up to 25 years on the route, which the company says justified the massive investment.
The decision to build the new ship was taken three years ago, but despite the credit crunch, the firm insists it would have still made the same choice today.
Mr Longden admitted the year ahead would be "challenging", but said he was not expecting the doom and gloom from other sectors. He added: "We have to make sure our tariffs are exceptionally good value, and at the moment they're the same as they were in 2007."
As well as lounge, dining, gaming and bar areas, the ship also boasts a Rolls-Royce stabilisation system and has been built extra wide, to provide a more comfortable crossing, designed to keep passengers free from seasickness.
The colours of the interior design are meant to echo those of Brittany, with blue carpets representing the sea and off-white ceilings meant to conjure up the image of a cloudy sky.
Cabins are larger and more comfortable, with disabled rooms featuring wide electric doors and larger bathrooms.
Mr Longden said the investment illustrated the firm's commitment to the region. "Plymouth is where we started in January 1973, when our main cargo was cauliflower and our main passengers were onion and garlic Johnnies coming to sell their wares in Plymouth.
"This ship is as good a demonstration as you can get for our commitment to services from Plymouth and the South West as a whole."
New Dover Ferry services begin
Date: 12 Feb 2009 Source: BBC KentUp to 100 jobs are being created with the launch of two new ferry services from the Kent port of Dover.
Ferry operator LD Lines launched its service from Dover to Boulogne four months ahead of schedule on Thursday, along with a new route to Dieppe.
The Boulogne route was previously run by SpeedFerries, which went out of business last November.
LD Lines said another 100 jobs were being created in the French port, and a second ferry added from 1 July.
The introduction of the second ship will increase the number of daily return sailings to Boulogne from two to six, with a crossing time of one hour and 45 minutes.
'Choice and flexibility'
The route serving Dieppe, which will run as a round-trip each evening, is a first for the Kent port, and will have a crossing time of four hours and 15 minutes.
The ferry operator said the two new routes would offer "further choice and flexibility" to haulage companies aiming to control costs and manage deliveries.
"We know from our own research that one of the real benefits of a ferry crossing to a haulier is the break it gives the driver," said Bob Goldfield, chief executive of the Port of Dover.
"The Dover-Dieppe route also avoids an extra 250km of driving for those travelling to and from the west and south of France and beyond.
"The same applies to tourists, who will now be able to choose to cut out road miles to their holiday destinations - and get the chance to walk around, eat a meal and take a break while on board."
For information or to make a booking, please visit the following pages:
- LD Lines
- Dover Dieppe Ferry
- Dover Boulogne Ferry
Channel Tunnel is fully back in action
Date: 10 Feb 2009 Source: www.kentnews.co.ukThe Channel Tunnel was fully reopened yesterday (Monday) after three and a half months of repair work, smoothing the way for a return to normal service between the UK and the Continent.
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon gave the departure signal at 3pm on Monday for the first commercial shuttle service to complete the crossing, via Interval Six of the north tunnel, since last year’s fire on September 11.
On board the truck shuttle were 30 heavy goods vehicles and their drivers, taking just 32 minutes to complete the crossing at full operating speed.
From today, Eurotunnel shuttle services will be restored to a regular timetable and passenger train Eurostar will be back to normal journey times on Monday, February 23.
Journeys from London to Paris will take two hours and 15 minutes, with the London to Brussels service taking two hours.
Mr Hoon said after the opening: 'This really is a fantastic achievement. Eurotunnel has done a magnificent job in bringing this vital piece of European high-speed transport infrastructure back into full service so quickly.'
Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive of Eurotunnel, said: 'The departure signal given by the Secretary of State is a tribute to the staff of this company who have completed the reconstruction project under budget and ahead of schedule.'
'We take encouragement from this moment. From here we intend to step up and expand our business.'
To book a ticket, please visit our Eurotunnel page.
Corsica Ferries ‘salutes’ rival but warns on subsidies cuts
Date: 1 Feb 2009 Source: Lloyds ListMediterranean ferry operator Corsica Ferries has warned the Corsican authorities against reducing subsidies on routes between the French mainland and the island in response to the imminent arrival on the market of Italy’s Moby Lines.
The Italian operator is planning to launch a service between Nice and Bastia in April, taking it into direct competition with market leader Corsica Ferries and its French rival SNCM.
Corsica Ferries has made no attempt to block its rival’s plans. Rather, it has “saluted” its arrival, claiming that it would be beneficial for the market, as was its own debut in the trade 13 years earlier as a rival to the then state-owned SNCM.
“History shows that increased capacity and price competition create more traffic,” said chief executive Pierre Mattei. “We still believe it.”
But it also warned the Corsican authorities against reacting to the arrival of Mobylines by reducing the per capita subsidies provided on routes between Nice and Toulon and Corsica.
The company said it would oppose any such move, arguing that the subsidy system applied on the Nice and Toulon routes was less expensive and more efficient than the one available on services operated between Marseilles and Corsica by SNCM and its partner, Compagnie Méridionale de Navigation, under a public service concession.
It said the subsidy on routes out of Marseilles amounted to €100 ($132) per passenger, compared with €10 per passenger on the Nice and Toulon routes.
“The figures and good sense speak for themselves,” said Mr Mattei.
Mobylines already competes with Corsica Ferries on lines between Italy and the French island but, according to Corsica Ferries, has only a 10.3% of the total Corsican ferry market, compared with 60.8% for Corsica Ferries and 22% for SNCM.
Last year, the French company increased passenger carryings on its Corsican services by 5.7% to 2.5m.
Carryings on French routes alone rose 4.5% to 1.7m, however, while carryings on Italian routes increased 8.3% to 782,534.
To book a crossing to Corsica, please visit our Ferries to Corsica page.
New addition 'Armorique' joins Brittany Ferries’ fleet
Date: 1 Feb 2009 Source: Lloyds ListChannel ferry operator Brittany Ferries is to bring its newest car ferry into service between Roscoff and Plymouth on February 10, writes Andrew Spurrier in Paris. The French company officially took delivery of the Armorique from STX Europe in Helsinki on Monday. The 167 m vessel, which has capacity for 1,500 passengers, 500 tourist vehicles and 65 trucks, will leave Helsinki for France today.
© Direct Ferries Ltd
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