P&O Ferries unhappy with Eurotunnel bid
January 17, 2012
P&O has told IFW that it “reserves the right" to lodge a complaint with EU competition authorities, following news that Eurotunnel has expressed a formal interest in buying three SeaFrance ferries.
In an interview with a French newspaper, Eurotunnel chief Jacques Gounon revealed that the group had asked to carry out inspections of three ferries – the Rodin (pictured), Berlioz and freighter Nord Pas de Calais – with a view to making an offer.
Eurotunnel’s plans focus on becoming the majority partner in a venture to “recreate a cross-Channel ferry service between Calais and Dover”, in partnership with a co-operative of former SeaFrance workers who would operate the vessels. Discussions are already under way with the co-operative.
“This business is profitable and we are not frightened to enter it,” said Gounon. “With the ferries, we can reach a different clientele to that for the tunnel,” he added.
Gounon also underlined that Eurotunnel was ready to lend start-up capital, estimated at less than €50 million, to the new operator which would employ around 350 staff. The “new SeaFrance” would aim to be profitable 18 months after its launch.
A spokesman for P&O Ferries said its initial reaction to Eurotunnel’s plans had been one of “bemusement”.
He said if Eurotunnel’s project did materialise, it could raise competition issues, given its current Dover-Calais market share of 40%.
P&O had made preliminary enquiries itself to the liquidator about the Rodin and Berlioz ferries, but it had yet to decide on whether to submit a bid, the spokesman added.
He played down any suggestion that this amounted to a defensive tactic designed to block the vessels falling into the hands of a competitor.
“We are always interested in acquiring ferries, and SeaFrance’s vessels are specifically adapted to operating the Dover-Calais crossing, which is a big plus point,” he said.
Next month, P&O Ferries will introduce the Spirit of France passenger and freight ferry, with capacity for 170 lorries, to join sister ship Spirit of Britain, on the Dover-Calais route.
Meanwhile, a new player is poised to add competition on the Calais-Dover route, in the shape of Danish shipping group DFDS and its French partner, LD Lines.
The new service will be operated by two vessels, owned by a DFDS-LD Lines joint-venture, under the French flag and manned by French seafarers.
DFDS already operates between Dover and Dunkirk.
Separately, the liquidator is said to have negotiated an agreement with SeaFrance’s owner, SNCF, to increase its redundancy package to the company’s workers from €36 million to €50 million. This would average around €60,000 for each worker who did not accept a post elsewhere within the French railways group.
Courtesy of IFW
