Ferry firms face fines
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by Karen Miles • British hauliers are free to seek compensation from five ferry companies following a European Commission decision to fine the ferry operators for imposing a freight surcharge in the early 1990s.
International operators forced into paying the 10% surcharge imposed in November 1992 could try to retrieve the money by negotiation or through the courts.
The companies involved are NW, Stella, Brittany Ferries, North Sea Ferries and Sea France.
P&O and Stena, which the commission said were the chief organisers of the increase, are to be fined 4:320,000 and .E80,000 respectively. North Sea Ferries— a MO subsidiary—is to he fined ,C20,000, with Brittany Ferries and Sea France each paying .C48,000.
In the two months before the surcharge was negotiated away by fierce competition, 200,000 trucks went through Dover alone. Small companies which were unable to negotiate a reduction immediately could benefit most from compensation claims.
"Any operator which feels the surcharge was incorrectly imposed should be talking to their ferry companies about getting it reimbursed," says Robin East, managing director of international operator Rokold European. P810 says the surcharge— which was charged only to those paying in Sterling—came in "a very unique, chaotic moment" when the pound had just fallen out of the exchange rate mechanism.
The commission decision comes as P&O is trying to organise a merger with Stena on the short sea Channel routes and also with Brittany Ferries on the Channel's western routes.