Eurotunnel confirms plan for cross-Channel ferry service
Eurotunnel confirmed yesterday it has set up a separate company to buy three of the four ships operated by the collapsed cross-Channel ferry operator SeaFrance,
On announcing a 16% increase in Eurotunnel revenues to €844.8m in 2011, the company’s executive chairman Jacques Gounon said it was planning to lease the ferries, expected to cost of €100m to €150m each, to a third-party operator.
The move could provide a lifeline for SeaFrance’s 880 staff, as Gounon has previously indicated he would be willing to rent the ferries to a worker’s co-operative which had originally planned a buy-out of SeaFrance.
SeaFrance ceased operating in December due to financial difficulties, and a French court ordered the company to be wound up on January 9 after none of the offers received for the company, including one from Denmark’s DFDS and another from the worker’s co-operative, were considered high enough.
Gounon revealed Eurotunnel had set up a separate company with a view to buying three ferries, but P&O Ferries said it would oppose any move by the train operator to launch sea crossings on competition grounds. Eurotunnel already accounts for 40% of all cross-Channel traffic and P&O Ferries handles 30%.
Eurotunnel saw a 10% increase in passengers on its cross-Channel shuttle service last year and a 2% rise in passenger numbers on its Eurostar train service. In total, 19m people and close to 17.7m tonnes of freight passed through the tunnel, but Eurotunnel said there was a potential to grow rail freight further following a 63% rise in revenue to €157.8m.
Gounon said: "In a difficult economic context, Groupe Eurotunnel has had a very good year. The group is well prepared to seize the opportunities which arise during 2012."
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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