SeaFrance goes under

[Osem]

Pardon the pun....

Ferry firm SeaFrance is to shed 127 jobs in Dover after it was liquidated by a French court and told to cease activity.

The Tribunal de Commerce decided SeaFrance's future after a bailout by the French government was ruled illegal by the European Commission.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16469300

[denphone]

Yes very sad to hear this on the mid afternoon news but by all accounts this has been in the offing for some time and l do feel sorry for the people losing their jobs.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by denphone

Yes very sad to hear this on the mid afternoon news but by all accounts this has been in the offing for some time and l do feel sorry for the people losing their jobs.

Yes they'll be joining an ever expanding club sadly.

[BenMcr]

So who actually still runs ferries across the channel now?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Osem

Yes they'll be joining an ever expanding club sadly.

Yes l suspect we all know people who have lost their jobs and for the people and their families it can be very demoralising not to mention the seismic reduction in their finances.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

So who actually still runs ferries across the channel now?

P&O do Dover-Calais. In fact they launched a massive three car deck ferry early last year on the route with a second on order that has had a few teething issues so has yet to make it into service having been originally due in September (It's even reported to have run aground having broken it's Finnish Shipbuilder's moorings). Perhaps P&O's expansion was the final straw for their competition? So whilst one company has failed it looks like the British based one is doing well.

There are other ferry routes too other than Dover-Calais run by various companies, especially from Portsmouth, Southampton and Poole areas, as well as those going towards Belgium and Holland

[Hom3r]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

So who actually still runs ferries across the channel now?

Well if your claustrophobic, you will not go under ground.

[Osem]

Haven't used the ferries for years but was French industrial action part of the reason why the company's gone under? They seem to have been striking on and off for years.....

[Halcyon]

SeaFrance were always the cheapest and I often travelled with them.

Unfortunately they don't have as bigger backing as P&O who are also big in the cruising market.

[Alan Fry]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

SeaFrance were always the cheapest and I often travelled with them.

Unfortunately they don't have as bigger backing as P&O who are also big in the cruising market.

P&O Cruises are no longer part of P&O since 2000, since 2003 they have been part of Carnival Corporation & plc a British/American company that is the worlds largest cruise operator!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%26O_Cruises

---------- Post added at 09:13 ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 ----------

Originally Posted by Osem

Yes they'll be joining an ever expanding club sadly.

However P&O ferries will be celebrating! They are the last operator of the Dover to Calais route!

---------- Post added at 09:18 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------

Originally Posted by BenMcr

So who actually still runs ferries across the channel now?

P&o Ferries run:

Dover - Calais

DFDS Seaways run:

Dover - Dunkerque

Brittany Ferries run:

Plymouth-Roscoff

Plymouth-Santander

NOTE: Brittany Ferries tried to buy Seafrance

Poole-Cherbourg

Poole-Santander

Portsmouth-St Malo

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

Portsmouth-Santander

Portsmouth-Bilbao

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by denphone

Yes very sad to hear this on the mid afternoon news but by all accounts this has been in the offing for some time and l do feel sorry for the people losing their jobs.

I feel quite sorry for the 127 here but the hundreds in France are planks, they were told the company would go under if they didn't take a 10% pay cut or 10% job cuts and how did they respond, by striking and after running the company into the ground they really expected to run the company as a cooporative. I've spoken up for workers rights and Unions many times on this forum but when the situation is so bad and so clearly desperate strike action is irresponsible and frankly imo they got exactly what they deserved.

[Alan Fry]

Eurotunnel might by the Seafrance ships:

http://www.cityam.com/latest-news/eu...eafrance-sinks

DFDS will launch a join operation with LD Lines on the Dover-Calais route:

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/DFDS-LD-...ail/story.html

---------- Post added at 16:31 ---------- Previous post was at 16:27 ----------

Brittany Ferries my also have a go at the remains of SeaFrance as they once tried, but failed to buy the company in 2009!

http://www.business-sale.com/news/ar...nce-30936.html

[Osem]

I wonder if the unions involved have learned anything from this sad episode or whether they still feel striking is the best option even when the stakes are so high. I dare say many of their redundant members would now love their jobs back at 90% of their previous salaries. Where's the common sense?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

I feel quite sorry for the 127 here but the hundreds in France are planks, they were told the company would go under if they didn't take a 10% pay cut or 10% job cuts and how did they respond, by striking and after running the company into the ground they really expected to run the company as a cooporative. I've spoken up for workers rights and Unions many times on this forum but when the situation is so bad and so clearly desperate strike action is irresponsible and frankly imo they got exactly what they deserved.

Yes l agree but thats typical of the more militant french workers attitude without more thought to the final outcome.

[Alan Fry]

Seafrances demise was caused mainly by the Channel Tunnel, the unions striking was a not the cause, if fact they tried to save their business

Also, The EU was also resposible by forcing seafrance to give back state aid money to the French Government which in turn trigged the closure of seafrance