Brian Dixon wrote:isn't p & o and dfds being subsidised by there parent companys.
The former has a parent company, the latter does not. Losses on the Dover service are being subsidised by their other routes in order to compete with another ferry company which is being subsidised by a rival transport system which already controls half the market. As commercial enterprises which have to make a profit in order to stay in business, this is unsustainable. The competition authorities stance is that sooner or later one of the existing ferry companies will say enough is enough and close the Dover route down. Both companies have closed numerous unprofitable routes in the past and several routes are currently under examination due to the hugely increased costs as a result of the emission legislation which has just come into force.
Nobody wants to see the French disappear from the short sea routes. The whole crux of the problem is ownership by Eurotunnel. If another French company were to acquire MFL this would solve the problem. SNCF subsidised SeaFrance until they got fed up with it and flogged it off to Eurotunnel for a knock down price. Eurotunnel has since been subsidising MFL. This would therefore not appear to be a very attractive business opportunity for another company to invest in and we wait to see if anybody expresses any interest.
