News Archive

September 2009: Having redeployed Norman Voyager on Rosslare (Eire)/Cherbourg sailings, L. D. Lines announced that they were chartering the vessel to their direct competitor on the route, Celtic Link Ferries. The arrangement was to take effect from 29th September and would see Norman Voyager performing weekend round trips between France and Ireland, whilst introducing a new rival service to Brittany Ferries' Portsmouth/Cherbourg sailings on weekdays. Celtic Link's Diplomat was earmarked to operate the Portsmouth service at weekends in lieu of Norman Voyager.
September 2009: Seafrance Manet arrived in Belfast on 25th September where she was to receive a thorough internal refurbishment prior to taking up commercial service as Stena Navigator.
August 2009: L. D. Lines confirmed that Côte d'Albâtre was not to return to Dover on completion of her relief duties at Newhaven. Instead she was earmarked to transfer to Portsmouth/Le Havre sailings in place of Norman Voyager. The latter vessel was expected to be used on another new route commencing in the Autumn.
July 2009: After numerous abortive attempts to initiate a fast ferry service across the Dover Straits, Euroferries announced on the 31st July that they had secured the agreement of Thanet District Council to run a high-speed craft on an unprecedented route from Ramsgate to Boulogne. The intended vessel for the new service was a 96 metre Incat, Bonanza Express (leased from Spanish shipping company, Lineas Fred. Olsen). The projected start date was moved to September 2009, some five months after the originally planned debut. A two-vessel service was spoken of for 2010. With a dismal track record of broken promises and false starts, 'seeing is believing' seemed an appropriate response to the yet-to-deliver company's declaration.
July 2009: Stena Line announced that they had purchased the redundant Seafrance Manet for an undisclosed sum. The vessel had been laid up at Dunkerque since April 2008 having been retired from Seafrance service. Plans were publicised for a thorough refurbishment of her accommodation before making her debut on the Stranraer/Belfast route. The vessel was previously chartered to Stena Line between 1992 and 1996 for use on the Newhaven/Dieppe route as Stena Parisien. Meanwhile Seafrance Cézanne remained mothballed and sale-listed, with Seafrance Renoir expected to join her later in the year.
July 2009: Sister Sisters was out of service receiving repairs in Dunkerque. Her twin sister, Côte d'Albâtre, was transferred back to the Newhaven/Dieppe route to cover for her. Meanwhile the opening of Boulogne's new 'hub' port was delayed until further notice. It was rumoured that the new linkpsan in Boulogne would not be able to fit Côte d'Albâtre and that she would be taken out of service upon the return of Seven Sisters. This would consequently reduce the number of Dover/Boulogne sailings.
June 2009: The plug was quietly pulled on L. D. Lines' pioneering link between Dover and Dieppe on the 29th June. Industry pundits predicted that the route would end in failure and the news of its closure came as no surprise. The future for Newhaven/Dieppe sailings remained uncertain as L. D. Lines had previously intimated that its continuation was dependent on the success of the Dover service. Côte d'Albâtre thereafter maintained her twice daily crossings to Boulogne, whilst spending a considerable amount of time idle inbetween sailings. This raised speculation over whether she would be found an alternative role elsewhere.
June 2009: Seafrance announced revised plans for their proposed re-structuring. The freighter, Seafrance Nord Pas-de-Calais, previously earmarked for disposal, was to be given a stay of execution, whilst redundancies amongst staff were to be scaled back too. There was no word on any take-over bids received from rival ferry companies.
June 2009: Norman Arrow entered commercial service on 6th June having spent over a week on trials and crew familiarisation. She initially sailed from Berth 3 at Dover's Eastern Docks, whilst Berth 1 was undergoing repairs.
May 2009: L. D. Lines' new Norman Arrow made her first arrival in Dover on Tuesday 26th May after completing an epic three week delivery voyage from her builders, Incat of Hobart, Tasmania. She set the record for being the largest ever diesel-powered catamaran in the world. Her other claim to fame was her ability to carry lorries, a first for an InCat vessel. She boasted space for thirty pieces of freight on her main vehicle deck, whilst nearly two hundred cars could be accommodated in a separate garage above. L. D. Lines signalled their expectation that the new fast craft would be profitable (unlike Speed One due to her ability to carry a combination of commercial and tourist traffic.
April 2009: In another change of plan. L. D. Lines surprised the ferry industry again by announcing they were going to drop the planned transfer of Norman Spirit from Portsmouth to Dover, and instead lease a newly built 112 metre catamaran to augment the twice daily sailings provided by Côte d'Albâtre on their route to Boulogne. Meanwhile loadings on the once daily crossing from Dover to Dieppe were unofficially reported as being exceptionally poor.
April 2009: During three days of blockades at French ports by fishermen protesting at E. U. quotas, P. & O. Ferries' Pride of Dover visited Oostende on what was believed to be an exercise to determine the feasibility of re-establishing ferry links between Dover and Belgium.
March 2009: On the 17th March it was disclosed by Brittany Ferries that they had made an offer to buy out Seafrance, with a view to continuing their Dover/Calais service with a reduced fleet. On the same day L. D. Lines formally confirmed it was aborting its own plans to take over the ailing French state-owned operator.
March 2009: Work began at S. T. X. Europe shipbuilders in Rauma, Finland on the construction of the first of P. & O. Ferries' two new giant ferries for their Dover/Calais service. Delivery was projected to be December 2010 and September 2011 respectively.
February 2009: The management board of Seafrance announced a restructuring plan involving the removal from service of three vessels and the axing of over six hundred jobs. Any changes were said to be subject to consultation with staff and their unions. The company reported the loss of over twenty million euros in 2008. This attributed to the economic downturn and consequent decline in freight traffic.
February 2009: After severe delays to her construction, Brittany Ferries' new Armorique (II) finally entered commercial service on the Plymouth/Roscoff route on the 10th February.
January 2009: L. D. Lines announced that they were bringing forward the inauguration of their new Dover/Dieppe and Dover/Boulogne services to the 12th February. The vessel earmarked to open the routes was confirmed as Transmanche Lines' Côte d'Albâtre.
November 2008: Having failed to find a buyer for the business, the administrators of SpeedFerries announced on the 26th November that they were winding up the company with immediate effect. The staff of over one hundred faced the loss of their jobs.
November 2008: On the 13th November it was announced that SpeedFerries Limited had been placed in administration. It emerged that, in addition to its debts to Boulogne Chamber of Commerce, a substantial sum of money was also owed to Dover Harbour Board for the use of the Hoverport. The company had been making losses for a considerable period of time, particularly as result of escalating fuel costs. It was revealed that L. D. Lines had been approached in July with a view to them buying the SpeedFerries operation. The French firm declined the offer of taking on Speed One, preferring to concentrate on their already planned freight and tourist conventional ferry service due to start in July 2009. The administrators publicised their hopes of selling SpeedFerries as a "going concern". Sadly the business model of the company had clearly failed to pay.
November 2008: Having already publicised a reduction in crossings for 2009, on the 7th November Speed One was arrested by the port authorities at Boulogne due to the failure of SpeedFerries to settle substantial harbour fee debts. Sailings from Dover were consequently cancelled indefinitely.
November 2008: L. D. Lines introduced the newly built Norman Voyager on the 6th November. In addition to Portsmouth/Le Havre sailings she also took up a new weekly service between the French port and Rosslare in Eire.
October 2008: L. D. Lines confirmed their intention of starting the first ever ferry crossings between Dover and Dieppe. It was announced that the company's subsidiary, Transmanche Ferries, would provide one of its vessels to operate a single round trip on the new service from January 2009. It was commented that the loss-making Newhaven/Dieppe route would close if the link with Dover was unsuccessful.
October 2008: Seafrance Molière finally started taking tourist traffic on the 1st October, three months after her planned debut.
September 2008: Cross-Channel ferry operators were given an expected boost when the north tunnel of the Channel Tunnel was the subject of a devasting fire on the 11th September. The loss of capacity saw many Eurotunnel users transferred to Dover ferry services with P. & O. and Seafrance laying extra sailings to cope with demand.
August 2008: The new Armorique was launched at her builders in Helsinki and is expected to make her severely postponed debut on the Brittany Ferries Plymouth/Roscoff route in March 2009.
August 2008: P. & O. Ferries committed themselves to an order with Aker Yards in Finland worth €360 million for two 210 metre long superferries. They will replace the current Pride of Calais and Pride of Dover. At 49,000 gross tonnes they will carry double the amount of lorries of their predecessors, whilst also featuring a third vehicle deck capable of housing an additional two hundred cars. Entry into service is expected in 2010/11.
August 2008: After delays to the completion of her internal reconstruction at Dunkerque, Seafrance Molière made her first arrival at Calais on the 6th August. She began commercial service taking freight only. In the event, a 'sky walk' platform was not fitted for the transfer of foot passengers at her stern end. It was understood that she would only carry travellers boarding in vehicles as a consequence.
July 2008: To coincide with the completion of a new harbour at the Port of Boulogne, L. D. Lines surprised the ferry industry with the news that it was inaugurating its first foray on to the Dover Straits in July 2009. Using former Dover stalwart, Norman Spirit (previously Pride of Aquitaine/P. & O. S. L. Aquitaine/Stena Royal/Prins Filip), the company was intending to set up in direct competition with SpeedFerries on the Boulogne route with four daily return trips. L. D. Lines were said to be keen to expand in the short-sea market which they regarded as far more lucrative than their existing Western Channel route. The announcement came at the time the Port of Dover ws reporting a down-turn in freight traffic.
May 2008: SpeedFerries completed the purchase of their sole vessel, Speed One from her original builders - InCat. The company paid over thirteen million pounds for the ten year old catamatan. The hope to procure a second InCat vessel and double he frequency of sailings on their Dover/Boulogne service continued to be spoken of by company director, Curt Stavis.
April 2008: The B. B. C.'s 'Inside Out' programme broadcast an exposé of the alledged fraudulant activities of John Paul Airs - the man behind the abortive 'Navmed' venture and subsequent proposals to launch 'Bateau Grande Vitesse' ferry services. Those who had always doubted the authenticity of his publicised plans were vindicated by the contents of the following article on the B. B. C. website: 'A Big Ferry Con'. Members of the ferry industry and the media were left with egg on their faces having been taken in by claims made by Airs.
March 2008: L. D. Lines announced the purchase of a vessel under construction for deployment on their Portsmouth/Le Havre service in November under the name of Norman Voyager. Her capacity for over a hundred lorries was to be complemented with accommodation for eight hundred passengers.
March 2008: An announcement was made on the 28th March that Jean Nicoli had been renamed Seafrance Molière and was destined for the A. R. N. O. ship repairers at Dunkerque for conversion to short-sea services.
March 2008: Two weeks of strike action by Seafrance officers came to an end on Friday 14th March when sailings between Dover and Calais by the French company resumed. The suspension of its services resulted in a severe shortage of capacity at the Port of Dover and the consequential implementation of the much hated 'Operation Stack' whereby parts of the M20 motorway were requistioned for use as a lorry park.
January 2008: After much delay and several changes of plan, P. & O. Ferries' 'new' European Endeavour made her first commercial crossing on the Dover/Calais route on Friday 11th January. After initially sailing just twice a day, her timetable increased to three daily round trips. She was originally expected to arrive the previous autumn but was first used to provide overhaul cover on the Liverpool/Dublin route. Prior to entering service at Dover she received structural modifications at Falmouth that included the addition of a 'cowcatcher' to enable her bow to meet up with the linkspans at Calais. Her large aft ramp, however, was left intact, thus precluding her from docking stern first at the twin-tier berths at Dover. Instead she sails from Berth 1 which is single tier and designed to accept ships with stern ramps. The operational disadvantage of this is it takes considerably longer to load the vessel via just the main vehicle deck (with an internal ramp being required to fill the upper vehicle deck). This arrangement has been decided upon in order to allow her to be used at other ports as a relief ship. To emphasise the point that she is not for sole Dover use, she has been registered in London.
December 2007: Having previously publicised their intention to order the construction a new 240 metre long superferry, Seafrance found a quicker solution to replacing their smallest and oldest vessels. They announced the purchase of Jean Nicoli from Mediterranean operator, S. N. C. M., for delivery the following spring. She was built in 2002 as Superfast X and was originally employed on Superfast Ferries' Rosyth/Zeebrugge route. Substantial alterations to her passenger accommodation were planned to make her suitable for use on the short Dover/Calais crossing. At over two hundred metres in length, and with a service speed of over twenty-eight knots, she will easily become the longest and fastest conventional ferry operating on the Channel. She will displace Seafrance Manet and Seafrance Renoir which are the smallest vessels in the fleet. The former is expected to be advertised for sale, whilst the latter may be kept on as a reserve ship subject to manning agreements being reached with the French seafarers unions.
December 2007: In a surprise move, Brittany Ferries confirmed that they had agreed to purchase Pont l' Abbé from D. F. D. S. instead of extending her current charter. It is believed that this arrangement would cost the French company less money in the long-run as the delivery of her replacement, Armorique (II) is now expected to be considerably delayed due to difficulties experienced by her builders.
November 2007: Brittany Ferries new freighter, Cotentin, arrived at Cherbourg for the first time on 14th November and took up commercial sailings to Poole twelve days later. She effectively replaced the much smaller Coutances which had served the route for twenty-nine years! To assist hauliers in by-passing the French Sunday lorry ban, she was to operate weekend round trips to Santander in Spain too.
July 2007: Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, parent company of L. D. Lines, announced the order for a new 'ro-pax' ferry for their Portsmouth/Le Havre, due for delivery in 2010. It will have the capability to carry a substantial amount of tourist traffic in addition to lorries, in a similar format to Norfolkline's Dover/Dunkerque ships. An option for a second vessel is also available.
June 2007: P. & O. Ferries announced that they had purchased Acciona Trasmediterranea's El Greco for delivery in September. The ship was built in 2000 and entered service that year for Norfolkline as Midnight Merchant. She will provide additonal freight sailings between Dover and Calais. During the winter she may provide refit cover on the North Sea and Irish Sea routes. She has a passenger certificate for 300.
March 2007: Upon the return of Speed One from her spring overhaul the SpeedFerries service was transferred from Dover Eastern Docks to the disused Hoverport at the Western Docks. The company claimed a reduction in crossing times to Boulogne as a result of this move. Meanwhile, after over a year of negotiations and a failure to secure financial backing, Euroferries lost their sought after vessel, Spirit of Ontario to a rival bidder. It was widely doubted that Euroferries would ever actually begin services from Dover.
March 2007: After their previously announced break in service, Acciona Trasmediterranea deferred any plan to resume their Portsmouth/Bilbao route indefinitely due to 'continued operational reasons'. It could only be deduced that carryings were below expectations and Fortuny could be deployed more profitably elsewhere. This left the way clear for P. & O. Ferries to continue to Spain without direct competition from Portsmouth. The charter of Pride of Bilbao from Irish Continental Group was renewed for another three years, contradicting popular rumours that P. & O. were quitting Portsmouth completely this year.
January 2007: Acciona Trasmediterranea announced at short notice that their fledgling Portsmouth/Bilbao service would be suspended from 25th January until 27th April for what they described as 'operational reasons'.
December 2006: The French regional state owners of Transmanche Ferries concluded an agreement with L. D. Lines to take over the management of their Newhaven/Dieppe service from March 2007. L. D. Lines were to receive a considerable subsidy to maintain the operation. Some changes to sailing patterns had been announced including a reduction in crossings to Dieppe and a new seasonal Newhaven/Le Havre route.
December 2006: Brittany Ferries announced that their new vessel under contruction in Finland will be named Armorique, reviving a name previously in use between 1976 and 1992. The vessel is expected to be delivered during 2008 for the Plymouth/Roscoff route.
November 2006: Transmanche Ferries' Seven Sisters arrived at Newhaven for the first time on Wednesday 1st November and completed berthing trials. She made her first commercial crossing to Dieppe the following day.
September 2006: The projected inauguration for Euroferries remained in much doubt after their failure to catch the lucrative summer season. Industry commentators were increasingly sceptical about the likelihood of the proposed operation ever materialising after the deal to purchase vessel remained in limbo.
July 2006: Norfolkline took delivery of their Maersk Dover and put her into service on the Dover/Dunkerque route on 23rd July. She completes their recent multi-million pound fleet replacement programme.
May 2006: Adding to the speculation surrounding the proposed revival of former Hoverspeed operations, the Navmed venture posted contact details on the web at: www.navmed.co.uk. This claimed that the organisation still intended to set up as rivals to Euroferries. There was no news regarding a vessel for Navmed, and the projected May inauguration looked unlikely to materialise. Meanwhile, Euroferries seemed to make tangible advances to actually opening for business by reportedly securing the lease on Dover Hoverport and buying a large catamaran which is currently laid up in the United States under the name of Spirit of Ontario. The viability of these new upstarts seemed doubtful considering the reason Hoverspeed folded was due to high operating costs and poor revenues.
May 2006: Fortuny arrived in Portsmouth for the first time on 18th May. Her first commercial crossing to Spain scheduled for later that day was cancelled at the order of Maritime & Coastguard Agency inspectors who found inadequacies in the saftey systems on board. After modifications were made she was permitted to take up service five days later.
April 2006: Former Hoverspeed director, Geoffrey Ede, announced rival plans to resurrect high-speed services on the Dover/Calais route under the name of 'Euroferries'. Details were posted on the web at: www.euroferries.co.uk
March 2006: Plans were publicised for an effective replacement of the defunct Hoverspeed service using the former company's two vessels under the brand of 'Navmed'. Financial backing for the venture was claimed to originate in the United States according to entrepreneur, John Paul Airs.
March 2006: Having already divested itself of its container shipping division (sold to Royal Dutch Nedlloyd Group) and its cruise operations (the brands P. & O. Cruises and Princess Cruises continue to exist under the ownership of Carnival Cruise Lines), the remaining assets of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (including P. & O. Ferries) were acquired by Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation of Dubai (trading as D. P. World). No immediate plans for the future of the ferry services were publicised.
March 2006: Transmanche Ferries' new purpose-built superferry, Côte d'Albâtre, was witnessed arriving in Newhaven for the first time by correspondent, Rod Main, on Sunday 5th March. She entered commercial service two days later. Sardinia Vera performed her last sailing from the East Sussex port on Thursday 30th March before being returned to her Italian owner. Dieppe was back in service the next day having received her annual overhaul. Seven Sisters is expected to replace her in the autumn.
March 2006: In an interesting swap with Danish operator, D. F. D. S. Seaways, Brittany Ferries took the rather retrograde step of selling their Val de Loire and chartering the smaller and much older Duke of Scandinavia for two years. This vessel has been renamed Pont l' Abbe and will take over Plymouth/Roscoff sailings from Bretagne (which returns to the Portsmouth/St. Malo route in April 2006). A new building is planned to replace Pont l' Abbe by 2008. A freight ship with limited passenger capacity has also been ordered to eventually take over from the small freighter Coutances on Poole/Cherbourg.
November 2005: Hoverspeed unceremoniously revealed their intention to quit Dover via their online booking facility, as discovered by a BBC South East correspondent. The closure of the service came as little surprise. Although the company carried more traffic this year, revenue could not keep up with the soaring cost of fuel. Hoverspeed's owner, Sea Containers, will no longer have any ferry operations in the United Kingdom. The last crossing from Dover to Calais was performed by Seacat Diamant at 1730 on Monday 7/11/05. Her return at 2015 was marked with little fanfare, just a token couple of toots of her fog horn. It was a sad occcasion, going out with a whimper rather than a bang. Click here for the story of the day: Hoverspeed's Last Day
October 2005: Norfolkline's brand new Maersk Dunkerque arrived at Dover for the first time during the penultimate weekend of October. FerryFantastic's webmaster happened to be sailing from the port on Sunday 23rd and captured the exciting new superferry performing berthing trials at the Eastern Docks. She tested Berth 3 then moved over to Berth 2 to allow Seafrance Manet to dock. Then she crossed over to Berth 1 on the Eastern arm. Later that day she was seen tied up along the Admiralty Pier at the Western Docks. Maersk Delft will enter service in early March and will be followed by Maersk Dover in July 2006.
October 2005: L. D. Lines, a subsidiary of the French Louis Dreyfus group, resurrected the Portsmouth/Le Havre route on October 3rd in lieu of P. & O. Ferries who gave up their service at the end of September. The former Pride of Aquitaine has been chartered and now sails as Norman Spirit, offering just one daily round trip. She departs from Portsmouth at 2300 and has only limited cabin accommodation as much of her original overnight berths were stripped out by P. & O. Ferries when she was used on the short Dover/Calais crossing. Reclining seats have been hurriedly installed in some of her lounge areas for passengers to try to sleep on! Rumour has it that another company is interested in operating out of Le Havre too in the near future.