Ferry Time blog

Source: BBC News

A cross-Channel ferry to France which has been operating from a Dorset town for the past 17 years will be withdrawn due to declining passenger numbers.

Brittany Ferries said the Barfleur ferry between Poole and Cherbourg had been losing money since 2003 and would be taken out of service in the spring.

But the firm revealed it had bought a new £75m ferry to increase sailings from Portsmouth to northern Spain.

Poole councillor Ron Barker said the move was a blow to tourism in Dorset.

‘Totally devastated’

“Poole and Cherbourg have been twin towns for almost 30 years and it will have a cultural impact,” added Mr Parker, vice chairman of the Poole and Cherbourg management committee.

“This is [also] a bitter disappointment for the economy of both towns with a loss of tourism trade.

“We are totally devastated to lose the Barfleur – 80% of the passengers who travelled on it were from the UK.”

Stephen Tuckwell, from Brittany Ferries, said: “The new ship will operate three days a week to Cherbourg.

“We are also beefing up the number of departures from Poole to Cherbourg using the freight ships, so it is not the end of commercial operation to Cherbourg.

“But it does mean a switch from Poole to Portsmouth.”

Mr Tuckwell went on to say that the high-speed Normandie Vitesse ferry to Cherbourg had “done very well” compared to the Barfleur since its launch in 1998.

He added that “every effort” would be made to “limit the number of job losses” which “would be voluntary”.

Mr Tuckwell also indicated some of the staff could be transferred to Portsmouth to work on the additional services.

It was recently announced that the 24-year-old Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port is to be demolished in January to make way for a new £16m passenger terminal.

Plymouth to Santander by Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries have been plying the route from the West of England to Santander in Northern Spain for decades and have recently refurbished with faster bigger ferries. Sailing from either Portsmouth on the south coasts of England or Plymouth in Devon, Brittany Ferries are well equiped for the longer sea crossings, avoiding the need to drive all the way down through France. Portsmouth to Santander is the newest route, with the flagship vessel Pont Aven adding the departure port option to the existing route of Plymouth to Santander since March 2009. This new crossing takes 24 hours, reducing the need for overnight cabins to one night, which is faster than anything previously.

More like a cruise than a ferry crossing, the Pont Aven is equipped with swimming pool and whirlpool, entertainment and children’s soft play and video areas. Two cinemas, bars and restaurants including seafood buffet meals help to pass the cruise time with quality offerings.

So why take a ferry to Santander?

Santander is a rather smart resort in Cantabria, with close associations with Madrid whose citizens tend to prefer to decant to the north and west of spain if possible in summer rather than to the steaming hot and over crowded southern costas. To the East is the Spanish Basque Country, and then France while to the West is Asturias and then Gallicia, so the whole of the North of Spain is available to explore from Santander.