Press Release : **************
LD LINES EXPANDS FERRY ROUTE NETWORK FROM THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY AND CREATES NEW CROSS CHANNEL TRADING LINKS
Ferry operator LD Lines' official arrival into the highly competitive Dover Straits cross channel ferry market commences from tomorrow, Thursday 12 February, with the first commercial sailing from Dover to Boulogne at 0700am.
LD Lines begins its new Dover-Boulogne service almost five months ahead of schedule, from the previously announced 1 July 2009 start date, by introducing a conventional freight and passenger ship to the route.
The company has identified strong demand from tourist passengers and freight customers to bring forward the start of the Boulogne service, following the demise of previous Boulogne operator, SpeedFerries, in November 2008.
The day is also a significant milestone for LD Lines and the Port of Dover as a further new route is introduced between Dover and Dieppe, linking the South East of England port and the Normandy region of France with a direct ferry service, for the first time. Major new trading and commercial links are expected to be created with this new service and provide freight drivers and motorists with a saving of 250km drivetime, compared to driving from short sea cross channel ports, for onward destinations in the West and South West of France and Spain.
LD Lines also anticipates to ultimately create up to 100 jobs on both sides of the channel, as part of its Dover and Boulogne shore-based operations, as expected demand develops for both routes.
From 12 February two return sailings daily will be provided between Dover and Boulogne at 0700 and 1230 from Dover, returning from Boulogne at 1045 and 1615 (1800 on Saturdays), with a crossing time of 1 hour 45 minutes. One round trip daily will operate between Dover and Dieppe at 1800 from Dover, returning at 0200 from Dieppe, with a crossing time of 4 hours 15 minutes.
Built as recently as 2007, the ships introducing the new services will alternate between the "Seven Sisters" and "Cote d'Albatre" , both of which currently operate on the Newhaven - Dieppe route under the Transmanche Ferries name, part of the LD Lines network of ferry routes. The sister ships each have capacity for 600 passengers and 300 cars or 52 freight vehicles or combination of both.
With construction of the Port of Boulogne's new Hub Port Ro Ro terminal well advanced, as planned LD Lines will be inaugurating the new berth facilities with the addition of a second ship to the Dover-Boulogne route from 1 July 2009. Sailing frequency between Dover and Boulogne will then increase from two to six return sailings daily.
LD Lines cross channel ferry service network will now comprise four routes including Portsmouth - Le Havre ; Newhaven - Dieppe ; Dover - Boulogne and Dover - Dieppe, in addition to a direct ferry service between Le Havre and Rosslare Europort in Southern Ireland. LD Lines is owned by the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, a leading French shipowner with over 100 years experience in the shipping industry, operating over 60 ships worldwide. For more information visit
www.ldlines.com