A tale of two fast ferries!

The cross-channel ferry route between England and France is fast becoming popular again by operators of high speed ferries. In a week which saw the 50th anniversary of the entering into passenger service of the hovercraft and the 40th anniversary of the entering into service of the largest passenger carrying hovercrafts ever built, French ferry operator LD Lines started operations between Dover and Boulogne using the brand new 112m Incat wave-piercing catamaran Norman Arrow. LD Lines moved quickly into the fast ferry sector following the collapse of low-cost operator SpeedFerries on the same route. The difference between the vessel used by SpeedFerries and LD Lines craft is in size, passenger ride and comfort, and, most important of all, the fact that Norman Arrow can carry freight. The French operator is seriously considering investing in a second 112m Incat for this route and is also looking at starting a fast ferry service linking Portsmouth and Le Havre.

Meanwhile, there is further news about the proposed fast ferry service between the UK port of Ramsgate and Boulogne by UK operator Euroferries. After many false dawns over the past five years, it looks like the service will, at long last start in mid July. Some cynics have said which year! 

Euroferries will be using Fred Olsen’s SA’s Bonanza Express on the run. I have been reliably informed that the 96m Incat has been repainted in the Canary Islands and named Euroferries Express, and is ready to make the journey north any day now. Senior port officials from Boulogne have just had a meeting with Euroferries to finalise plans. But as one senior port official told me this week, ‘I’ll believe the service will start when I see the ferry sail into Boulogne.’ There are many on both sides of the channel with the same opinion. When you compare the professionalism of LD Lines with that of Euroferries, who have been telling anyone who will listen over the past three-four years that their service start-up date is ‘imminent’, there is no comparison!   Sphere: Related Content