Closure of Portsmouth-Le Havre Ferries
Discussion
As many of you will probably know, P&O announced some time ago that they would cease operating the Portsmouth to Le Havre cross-channel ferry route later this year (September). Initially, the plan was that the route would be sold off to Brittany Ferries, who already operate the Portsmouth-Caen crossing. P&O duly handed over the "Express" facility at the start of this year after just a few months of operating the route, and Brittany have been handling that service ever since.
I now understand that Brittany Ferries' hopes of taking over the Le Havre route as well have floundered. They were able to take over the Express straight away because they already have the licence to operate that route. They did not have the Le Havre licence, however, and that has been the stumbling block.
Employees of P&O have launched an appeal to try and persuade P&O to change their minds. With the collapse of the BF take-over, several hundred people now face certain redundancy and the effect on Le Harve (and to a lesser extent perhaps, Portsmouth) will be huge. All this despite the fact that the route has, over recent years, been profitable (making in excess of £5 million on last available figures) despite a lack of investment.
Check out the appeal website at http://savetheferries.free.fr and sign the on-line petition by clicking on the red box (Je vous signer la pétition!). Most of the site is in French, but many of those who have registered are British.
If this route does close, then rest assured, the cost of making the Portsmouth-Caen crossing will rise even higher - and it's never been exactly cheap! What makes this route so important to us as a group is that it saves most people seven hours or more of driving time between UK addresses and Le Mans (when compared Dover-Calais), and that's a lot of petrol and a lot of boring motorway.
>> Edited by Thumper on Monday 23 May 17:07
I now understand that Brittany Ferries' hopes of taking over the Le Havre route as well have floundered. They were able to take over the Express straight away because they already have the licence to operate that route. They did not have the Le Havre licence, however, and that has been the stumbling block.
Employees of P&O have launched an appeal to try and persuade P&O to change their minds. With the collapse of the BF take-over, several hundred people now face certain redundancy and the effect on Le Harve (and to a lesser extent perhaps, Portsmouth) will be huge. All this despite the fact that the route has, over recent years, been profitable (making in excess of £5 million on last available figures) despite a lack of investment.
Check out the appeal website at http://savetheferries.free.fr and sign the on-line petition by clicking on the red box (Je vous signer la pétition!). Most of the site is in French, but many of those who have registered are British.
If this route does close, then rest assured, the cost of making the Portsmouth-Caen crossing will rise even higher - and it's never been exactly cheap! What makes this route so important to us as a group is that it saves most people seven hours or more of driving time between UK addresses and Le Mans (when compared Dover-Calais), and that's a lot of petrol and a lot of boring motorway.
>> Edited by Thumper on Monday 23 May 17:07
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