Channel crossings
New ships on their way as Channel business booms
The completion of the Channel Tunnel, the arrival of no-frills airlines, and the abolition of duty free concessions in 1999 prompted many travel experts to forecast a rapid decline in surface traffic between England and France, to the point where many operators might go out of business altogether. Such predictions now look particularly ill-founded, as passenger numbers have risen for three years in succession, and several new ships are either already in service or on their way.
The latest arrival is the SeaFrance Molière, replacing from this month the Manet and shortly afterwards the Renoir on the Dover-Calais route, thereby completing a fleet renewal programme that began with the introduction of the Rodin and the Berlioz. The Molière, the first ship longer than 200 metres on this short crossing, was bought from the Mediterranean operator SNCM. A major refit in Dunkirk included the conversion into lounges of two decks of passenger cabins, for which there is little demand on the short cross-Channel route. The Molière can take up to 1,200 passengers and 480 cars, and has double car decks to ensure fast loading and unloading.
The transfer to SeaFrance was not without its teething problems. The SNCM crew took over the ship in Marseille until forced by a French court to leave or be arrested for piracy. Then French dockers in Calais would not allow foot passengers on the Molière to be taken on board or ashore by coach: the ship does not have walkon/ walk-off access for foot passengers.
An entirely new purpose-built ship remains a scarce commodity for the English Channel but Brittany Ferries will introduce one on its Plymouth-Roscoff route in the spring of next year. Called the Armorique, after the national park in western Brittany, it will replace the Pont l’Abbé, presently on short-term charter. The new ship, built at a cost of 120m Euros at the Aker Yards in Helsinki, really ought to be called Armorique II, as the original Armorique went out of service in 1992. The new ferry will carry 470 cars, 1,500 passengers, and provide 250 cabins. It is expected to be capable of 23 knots and for the time being will undoubtedly be the most comfortable ship on the Channel.
Two new ferries have just been ordered by P&O at a cost of £285m, to replace the Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais on the Dover-Calais route. Each will have a dedicated tourist vehicle deck capable of taking 250 cars, and can carry 1,500 passengers.
These ships, each 210 metres in length, and also to be built at Aker Yards, are the largest that the Channel ports can accommodate. The first of the new ferries, whose names have yet to be decided, is expected to enter service in December 2010, and the second in September 2011.
Other operators already running extremely modern ships are LD Lines and Transmanche Ferries, sister companies in the Western Channel. Transmanche, set up in public ownership to preserve the Newhaven-Dieppe route, which had been under threat, has handed over day-to-day running to LD Lines. A subsidiary of the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, which has been in shipping since 1904 and has more than 60 ships in service around the world, LD has the experience and resources to turn the longer Channel routes into a profit-making exercise. Its Seven Sisters and Cote d’Albatre ferries were launched in 2006 and both have superb passenger lounges with a panoramic view. The Sorrento, built in Italy in 2003, has 93 cabins each with toilet, shower and full air-conditioning. Together in summer they provide five crossings a day out of Portsmouth and Newhaven, and this may increase next year, with LD Lines chartering a second vessel for the Portsmouth-Le Havre crossing from November.
Portsmouth is upgrading its terminal and has commissioned plans for a new building to meet anticipated growth in passenger traffic.
Transmanche has renovated the terminal buildings at Newhaven, including the introduction of a new café.
Peak crossings in summer on most routes remain expensive, especially on Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg and St-Malo. However these are offset on longer routes by the considerable saving in petrol and wear and tear on your car, driver and passengers, cutting the mileage driven in France. The best value for money is to be found on the NorfolkLine between Dover and Dunkirk, particularly peaceful as it does not normally take coaches, but Dunkirk is of course less convenient for almost every destination on the other side of the Channel. An attractive alternative is the SpeedFerries service to Boulogne by catamaran in just 50 minutes but it is vulnerable to cancellation in choppy seas. On the Dover-Calais route, SeaFrance has for the time being put clear blue water between itself and its main rival P&O Ferries in terms of the age of its fleet, but P&O does offer excellent restaurant food and a club lounge for a premium of £12 per passenger.
On longer routes, arrival and departure times can be an issue for families with young children. For example, LD Lines/Transmanche Portsmouth-Le Havre service does not leave Portsmouth until 23:00 daily and its Le Havre-Newhaven service does not arrive in Newhaven until 23:30. Cabins, too, are in much shorter supply than on Brittany Ferries.
One service out of Portsmouth often overlooked is on Condor Ferries to Cherbourg, which runs on Sundays in summer: worth considering for the return journey after your villa holiday. Condor also has the fastest route to Brittany, Poole to St-Malo in under five hours, although on some services you have to change vessels in the Channel Islands. You could make a virtue of necessity, and enjoy 24 hours in Jersey on your way home.
The quickest, and only weather-proof, way to reach France is of course Eurotunnel, the shuttle train from near Folkestone to a midpoint between Boulogne and Calais. This takes only 35 minutes and because it is such a short transit, refreshments are not available and toilet facilities are somewhat rudimentary.
The best way to treat the crossing, across rather than beneath the Channel, is to regard it as part of the holiday, a mini-cruise with a chance of a good break, a decent meal, sea air and a shopping opportunity. With short check-in times, 45 minutes or less, your luggage included in the price and certain to arrive with you, minimal security checks and most of the time few delays, it has many advantages over flying at peak periods from Britain’s stressful airports.
From our July 2008 newsletter
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