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Tag: P&O Ferries | Ferry Shipping News

Jul 01
2

The Start of a Hot Summer on the Channel (but where are the passengers?)

By | 2021 Newsletter week 26 | No Comments

PRIDE OF BURGUNDY – P&O Ferries fifth ship on its Dover-Calais route – arrived on 28 June at the Port of Dover, returning to service after being laid up (and even for sale).

The P&O ship arrived the day before the start of Irish Ferries on Dover-Calais, with presently one ship: ISLE OF INISHMORE. Irish Ferries operates up to 10 sailings a day.

PRIDE OF BURGUNDY’s return follows P&O Ferries’ freight space sharing agreement with DFDS on the Dover-Calais route.

Passenger travel is still limited due to Covid-related restrictions. Belgium, France and Spain are “amber list” zones, which requires travellers to go in quarantine when arriving in the UK.

France allows vaccinated travellers from the UK, with a PCR-test.

If not vaccinated you can only travel to France if you have pressing grounds for travel, including tests and quarantine. [France Diplomacy]

Brittany Ferries is suffering from the lack of passengers. In 2 years, the company will have transported only 25% of passengers compared to the usual traffic – and this even though passenger transport represents 80% of its activity. CEO Christophe Mathieu told politicians that “the 2021 season is going to be as catastrophic as that of 2020.” [Source France Bleu]

May 27
2

Ferry Shipping

By | 2021 Newsletter week 21 | No Comments

Good News for Truckers: A Ferry Departure Every 36 Minutes

DFDS and P&O Ferries have entered into a mutual space charter agreement on the Dover-Calais ferry route.

Ferry Shipping News understands this has been under consideration for a long time.

Truck drivers will be able to board the next available sailing on the Dover-Calais route, regardless of which of the two companies is operating the crossing.

It will reduce the time drivers spend waiting at the ports, giving them access to a departure every 36 minutes and reducing gate-to-gate journey times by an estimated 30 minutes.

All commercial activities and relationships with freight customers remain entirely under the control of each operator. The Dover-Calais agreement is similar to space charter agreements entered into by DFDS on routes on the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean.

The new agreement is for freight vehicles only and does not apply to sailings on the DFDS Dover-Dunkerque route

DFDS operates three ropax ferries between Dover and Calais (and 3 on Dunkerque):

  • COTE DES FLANDRES
  • COTE DES DUNES
  • CALAIS SEAWAYS (to be replaced by newbuilding COTE D’OPALE).

P&O Ferries operates five ropax ferries on Dover – Calais:

  • SPIRIT OF BRITAIN
  • SPIRIT OF FRANCE
  • PRIDE OF CANTERBURY
  • PRIDE OF KENT
  • PRIDE OF BURGUNDY

The agreement is expected to start during the summer.

The Port of Dover has welcomed the announcement “as a powerful statement of returning focus to driving the unrivalled benefits of the Dover-Calais crossing: to preserve and maximise the unique advantages of high pace, frequency and capacity provided to supply chains on the shortest sea crossing between the UK and its principal global trading partner – the EU.” [Statement Port of Dover]

Jun 18
0

FERRY PORTS

By | 2020 Newsletter week 25 | No Comments

P&O Ferries Inform Freight Customers About Dover Wharfage Charge

In a letter, P&O Ferries tells its customers that Dover Harbour Board have served all shipping companies a notice of a £5 increase in wharfage charges across all freight unit types.

This increased charge applies to trucks, unaccompanied trailers or vans as from 19 July (ref the letter from Dover Harbour Board).

“We have little choice but to pass on this additional £5 (or €6) charge to our customers as from the same date,” writes P&O Ferries.

May 14
0

P&O Ferries Plans To Cut A Significant Portion Of Its Workforce

By | 2020 Newsletter week 20 | No Comments

P&O Ferries has submitted an HR1 form, this is an advance notification of redundancies.

Up to 1,100 jobs on passenger routes from Dover and Hull are at risk. P&O has furloughed 1,400 staff since the pandemic broke out.

The company is seeking voluntary redundancies before moving on to a selection process. Consultation will run for a period of 45 days, until 24 June 2020.

Five ropax ferries are currently laid up: PRIDE OF CANTERBURY, PRIDE OF BURGUNDY, EUROPEAN SEAWAY, PRIDE OF BRUGES and PRIDE OF YORK.

Mar 26
0

Although a little more formal and more edited than the DFDS vlogs, this YouTube video is easy to understand and one can feel the honesty in Mrs Bell declaration. Janette Bell is the CEO of P&O Ferries.

By | 2020 Newsletter week 13 | No Comments

“Good afternoon everybody. My name’s Janette Bell and I’m the chief executive of P&O Ferries.

These are unprecedented times and I wanted to say a few words to the thousands of people who work for us, the millions who travel with us and of course the millions more who rely on our trucks and ships.”

Mar 26
0

P&O Ferries

By | 2020 Newsletter week 13 | No Comments

P&O Ferries (1)

Larne – Cairnryan route will be running on a revised schedule, due to increased demand for unaccompanied traffic. (since 23 March 2020)

The Teesport – Europoort service will permanently move from the Riverside terminal in Teesport to the main terminal. The first ship, WILHELMINE, will call at the main terminal at 06:00 on Sunday 29 March.

P&O Ferries (2)

P&O Ferries is strengthening its freight operations on the Calais-Dover crossing as part of its commitment to maintain the flow of goods during the Covid-19 crisis.

The shift to meet the challenge of the Covid-19 crisis is made possible thanks to the commitment and hard work of P&O Ferries’ workforce in the Port of Calais, who are taking on new roles in freight handling to keep food, medicines and other goods flowing. P&O Ferries is following the guidance of health authorities on both sides of the channel to protect the health and well-being of employees and customers. The check-in and loading process has been modified to avoid direct contact. Cleaning protocols have been intensified on ships, which have also switched from air-conditioning to fresh air.