honnel crossings stepped up.
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ut what's in it for hauliers?
NEXT YEAR there will be we ferries with more freight pacity and more competiion on the English Channel. A rice war? P&O and Sealink e this term only a little less 1 an the phrase "most exensive stretch of water in the orld". But when pressed alink's chairman wryly adIs that there's a "skirmish" n.
The special offers have arted rolling in for cars. But hat about the roll-on/roll-off eight operators? How will ey benefit?
More frequent ferries will elp. Road transport operators re strongly placed to egotiate good rates, but they st don't click with the pecial offers that go alongside ig advertising campaigns in e tourist field.
Three ferry lines have made nnouncements within a few ays. Thinking that even the reight field, with large olumes of farm produce to be oved, must show some flueuation, I asked Sealink which re the least busy periods for rries. I was told that there is downturn in July and ugust. This is convenient as coincides with the peak time eriod for cars. Apparently, ttracting more freight at this ime of year is furthest from erry operators' minds. Despite the advertising mphasis on tourism, howver, freight actually comprises 60 per cent of P&O's traffic and just over half of Sealink's, who topped 50 per cent for the first time in 1979.
Freight charges are usually individually negotiated rates, said a Sealink spokesman, and road transport operators are already very tough negotiators. But, if it's any consolation, he did say that, special offers apart, whereas in 1980 the basic car ferry rate will be about 15 per cent up ("below inflation"), freight rates will increase only by 11 per cent.
This more modest increase has been agreed because of the relatively larger sum recovered, by way of a fuel surcharge during 1979, from haulage operators than from tourists.
"You can't get much more aggressive than a freight man negotiating a rate," continued the spokesman. So here's some more ammunition for operators shopping around: Sealink alone will have at least 25 per cent more capacity in 1980 for ro-ro freight.
By the way, ferry operators have to pay seamen 24 per cent more under the recent settlement, and Sealink says wages represent about half of operating costs.
So the ferrymen are aiming to operate more economically. They are all convinced, or say that they are, that there is more trade to be attracted, and that they can all develop and share greater prosperity. The big questions are: who grows most? Who grows with most profitability? Who could afford to order even more ships, if necessary, in 1981?
And what about the Channel Tunnel? This is not just a topic thrown into the fray by imaginative journalists. P & 0 Ferries' executive chairman, Ian Churcher, introducing their first multi-route brochure at his Press conference, volunteered the information that he has no doubt it will be built and that he does not fear it. "The bridge is also a good idea," he said, "but it will be a boring trip because of high sides as a protection against winds."
This company is renamini P & 0 Normandy Ferries tt P & 0 Ferries Channel Ser vices with a "bus service' frequency next year betweer Dover and Boulogne, witl sailings every even hour ix each direction. Boulogne the claim, a mere four mon nautical miles further than thi shortest route, is the best por for many French destinations P & 0 is challenging thi dominance on the Englisl Channel of European Ferrie and the railway ships o Britain, France and Belgium "We are prepared to take oi anyone," said Ian Churcher And Alan Pitt, genera manager, Channel Services. declared: "Across the bow% we are cheaper."
The end of this Decembe coincides with the ending c the revenue-pooling cartel c European Ferries and Sealini "We did not belong to thi so-called club," said Alan Pitt European Ferries plan t bring in three more big ship; Another P & 0 ship, Panthe will be introduced to th Dover/Boulogne service i February. And a new cross Channel route is being plar ned by the Danish line Lauri. zen.