DFDS and LD Lines set launch date for new Calais-Dover service

06 Feb 2012 - Shipping

• Joint ferry service will strat on February 17th, according to DFDS

DFDS and LD Lines have announced that their new Calais-Dover ferry service will start on February 17th.

The new service will be operated by two French-flagged vessels, including LD Line’s Norman Spirit (pictured).

A second ferry will be added to the Dover Strait as soon as a suitable vessel becomes available, DFDS said in a statement.

“As we have also previously announced, we will hire 300 staff at sea and ashore in addition to those we already employ,” said DFDS.

“The process of hiring people, many of these being former SeaFrance staff, has already started.”

DFDS, which already operates a cross-channel service between Dunkirk and Dover, has insisted that the new joint-venture will not affect its existing service in any way.

Following the collapse of SeaFrance earlier this month, competitors have been quick to make their moves in plugging the gap in a fiercely competitive UK-France freight market.

Eurotunnel has also announced its own plans of introducing a revised cross-channel service, with the acquisition of three, now out of service, SeaFrance vessels.

Eurotunnel hope to establish themselves as the majority partner in the venture that would revitalize the Calais-Dover route by employing a number of former SeaFrance employees.

P&O Ferries is also looking to enhance its own Dover-Calais link by introducing an additional vessel capable of carrying up to 170 lorries.