The tidE is turni
Page 40
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Following a tough recession for ferry operators, are calmer waters on the way? CM talks to major sea (and tunnel) route operators as they dip a toe back mto the
Words: Ian Norwett
Stena Line
The Swedish-owned operation is making no secret of the tough market it has been facing, but it has seen an uplift in recent months New port facilities in Scotland and an extra ship on the fleet are tangible evidence of its confidence. Adding a third ship to its Stranraer-Belfast route since Crins last review in 2009, the Stena Navigator superferry joined the HSS Siena Voyager and Stena Caledonia on the route. A E.2m upgrade included dedicated facilities for freight drivers, with a drivers' restaurant and truckers' lounge with internet facilities. The Navigator's freight capacity is around 50 trucks. Still on the St George's Channel crossing. Stena investing £200m in a 28-acre ferry port two miles north of Catrnryan, with standage area for 190 unaccompanied dropped trailers and accompanied standage for 350 cars and 50 trucks Two new ferries will come with it and its all due to be up and running by next September.
P&O Ferries
Dover's biggest ferry company admits that trading continues to be "challenging", but it too is looking to the future, having invested €360m (2.314m) building the two largest ferries ever to operate on the Dover-Calais route, with the first due to arrive in Dover at the end of this year. It will have double the freight capacity of P&O's existing vessels. Like many ferry operators, P&O is under intense cost pressure, particularly fuel, and competition from Eurotunnel is acute in the Dover port, which handles nearly 2.5 million trucks a year. The Dover Harbour Board report for the first four months of 2010 showed the short-sea freight market as having increased by 3.4%, The Euro exchange rate has helped the increase in export
. traffic as demand increases for exports from the UK.
LO Lines
Now incorporating the Transmanche business, the biggest user of Boulogne is also upgrading vessels and facilities It introduced a new France—Spain freight/passenger ferry service in September this year, finking the ports of Nantes (St Nazaire) in western France to Gijon in northern Spain. Its she), Norman Bridge, gives three return saihngs weekly and a crossing time of 14 hours From 1 May 2011, LD Lines will introduce a new purpose-built ship, Norman Leader, to the Portsmouth-Le Havre service. Currently under construction in Singapore, it will be replacing the incumbent vessel on this route, Cate d'Atbatre LC) Lines and Transeuropa Ferries are collaborating on the Ramsgate-Ostend freight and passenger ferry service, operating one vessel together, with Transeurepa Ferries focusing on the freight traffic
Eurotunnet
The only company offering travel under the English Channel continues to rebuild its reputation and shake off the drop in business that followed the 2008 fire, and cold-weather issues last winter. However, in June of this year, it found the funds to buy Britain's third-largest rail-freight operator from transport giant RrstGroup for £31m. Eurotunnel's acquisition of GB Railfreight is part of a plan to expand its European freight operation to meet expected growth in demand, which is rising as customers become increasingly aware of environmental issues, it claims. Eurotunnel said GB Railfreight would fit, both geographically and in terms of customer .profile, with its existing French freight subsidiary. Europorte France, enabling it to provide a through service using the Channel Tunnel.
Brittany Ferries
Its freight operation will introduce a new twice-weekly service between Portsmouth and Bilbao using the 33.000-tonne luxury cruise-ferry Cap Finistere, taking over from P&O Ferries on the route to northern Spain. It will• start in the spring of 2011, when Portsmouth's new terminal opens for business. The new service will add to Brittany Ferries' existing crossings to Santander. Passengers will have the choice of four sailings every week from Portsmouth to Spain. In total, starting from spring, Brittany will provide six return crossings a week between the UK and Spain; four from Portsmouth; one from Plymouth; and one from Poole. The decision to expand services on the direct route between the UK and Spain has been based on the results of progressively building freight traffic on the route from the initial introduction of the freight-only vessel, Cotentin, from Poole in 2007 through
the acquisition of the Cap Finistere earlier this year. Brittany claims to be "one step away" from a long-held aspiration of having a daily service for both driver-accompanied and unaccompanied freight to northern Spain,
OFDS Seaways
There's no entry for Norfolk Line this year, following its acquisition, finalised in June. by DFDS Seaways. The big change on routes is that the Rosyth-Zeebrugge service is now freight only, with the frequency increased from three to four return crossings per week.The former Norfolk Line service from Killingholme to Vlaarchngen now sails from Immingham. •