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A cross-Channel ferry to France which has been operating from a Dorset town for the past 17 years will be withdrawn due to declining passenger numbers.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

The newest conventional ferry on the cross channel route was detained by safety inspectors moments before it was due to sail out of Portsmouth to Cherbourg.

The Norman Voyager has capacity for up to 800 passengers, 200 cars and up to 120 freight vehicles. On board facilities include 110 cabins, bar, restaurant, lounges, cinema and a shop. Passengers who were already on board the vessel were told to disembark after it failed tests relating to fire safety, watertight integrity and staff safety training.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the company and crew had worked hard to address its concerns and has now been given the all-clear to sail.

Celtic Link sub-charters the vessel from LD Lines which, in-turn charters it from another company called Epic. A spokesman for Celtic Link said it was unlikely the ferry would leave Portsmouth until the bad weather was over.

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.

LD Lines has announced the launch of the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross channel routes between England and France, with the introduction of a brand new, high speed Incat 112 metre Wave-Piercing Catamaran to its Dover – Boulogne service from 29 May 2009.

The fast ferry will be the first-ever freight carrying high speed vessel to operate across the Dover Straits and LD Lines becomes the first-ever French ferry company to operate high speed ferries on the short sea routes from Dover. The vessel is also the world’s largest diesel-powered catamaran and it will be the first Incat 112 metre to operate in Europe.

At nearly 11,000 gross tonnes, the new craft is one of the largest vessels yet built by Incat, providing significantly greater seakeeping qualities and passenger comfort than earlier generation fast ferries familiar to Dover Strait, cross channel passengers.

LD Lines new Dover-Boulogne service will be greatly enhanced as the new fast ferry will increase frequency from the current two to six return sailings daily. All types of tourist traffic will be carried including cars, caravans, motorhomes, motorcycles, coaches and foot passengers, in addition to freight.

The fast ferry will operate up to four return sailings daily between Dover (Eastern Docks) and Boulogne with a crossing time of 1 hour ; from Dover at 0415 ; 0745 ; 1230 and 1900 and from Boulogne at 0700 ; 1045 ; 1700 and 2230.

Two return sailings daily to Boulogne and one to Dieppe (Monday – Friday) will continue to be operated by the conventional ferry, which introduced the earlier than planned start of the new Dover – Boulogne service in February 2009. Crossing time by conventional ferry is 1 hour 45 minutes.

Both vessels will initially operate into the Port of Boulogne’s existing ferry berths, but following completion of Boulogne’s new Hub Port Ro Ro Terminal from 1 July 2009, both will then transfer to inaugurate and operate into the first linkspan of the new Hub Port Terminal.

The introduction of LD Lines’ first-ever fast ferry is a major development for the company, further emphasising the strategy to firmly establish its business on the cross channel routes from Dover, as Managing Director, Christophe Santoni explains.

“This is a very exciting, innovative step forward for LD Lines and with the introduction of this new high speed ferry, we will be dramatically revolutionising ferry transport across the channel, with a style of service never experienced before on the Dover Straits.

We will be offering a unique, combined high speed and conventional ferry sailing frequency via the Boulogne service, providing great appeal and choice, to meet the demands of tourist and freight customers and create new markets.”

Commenting on the expansion of the Dover – Boulogne service with a brand new fast ferry, Francis Leroy, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Boulogne-sur-Mer Cote d’Opale, said, ” By creating the new Hub Port Terminal, the commercial port of Boulogne is positioning itself strongly within the ferry transport market. For the port of Boulogne this new service is a new step in the development of rapid links.”

The introduction of the new high speed ferry to operate with the conventional ferry on the Dover – Boulogne service, will now mean that the ship “Norman Spirit” will remain on LD Lines’ Portsmouth – Le Havre route. This ship had previously been expected to operate the service to Boulogne’s new Ro Ro terminal from 1 July 2009.

LD Lines’ ferry route network comprises Portsmouth – Le Havre ; Rosslare (Southern Ireland) – Le Havre ; Newhaven – Dieppe ; Dover – Boulogne and Dover – Dieppe.

Source: BBC News

Cross-Channel ferry operator SeaFrance could be taken over by Brittany Ferries through a new holding company after negotiations with LD Lines broke down.

If successful, it would acquire four or five of SeaFrance’s vessels, which would continue in service sailing to Calais from the Kent port of Dover.

SeaFrance recently announced it could be axing up to 650 French jobs.

Brittany Ferries already operates five routes to France from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth and two to Spain.

It employs 2,500 staff, including 320 UK-based employees.

Union opposition

David Longden, managing director, said: “After 37 years of experience on the longer routes to France and Spain, this is an exciting opportunity to introduce Brittany Ferries’ award-winning standards on Dover-Calais crossings, and to provide an even greater choice for our passengers and freight customers.”

LD Lines, the newest ferry company operating between Dover and Boulogne and Dieppe, had been planning to make a formal bid for SeaFrance.

However, it revealed it had withdrawn its acquisition offer of a majority stake in SeaFrance, amid apparent union opposition.

SeaFrance’s parent company SNCF declined to comment on Wednesday.