EMEA News
Update: DFDS, P&O Could Benefit Following English Channel Ferry Service Ruling
Update 1 - Corrects that the ban is against Eurotunnel's ownership of MyFerryLink, not a ban on the MyFerryLink service itself
Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal Friday rejected an appeal by Eurotunnel against a ban on the ownership of its ferry operator MyFerryLink, ShippingWatch reports.
Ship & Bunker understands that the service itself is delivered by a société coopérative et participative (SCOP) and Eurotunnel is said to now be looking for purchasers of the ferry operator, which it describes as "an operating and commercial success."
Nevertheless, the upholding of the ban is said to be good news for rivals, with DFDS CEO Niels Smedegaard having termed aggressive price competition on the Dover-Calais routes as "a bloodbath."
DFDS and fellow channel ferry services provider P&O have both recently been seeking to rationalise their networks citing the rising cost of bunkers as a result of 2015 Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules.
According to the report, DFDS has been losing $1.6 million per month as a result of competition from MyFerryLink.
DFDS shares rose two percent on the announcement.
Although Eurotunnel has recourse to the UK Court of Appeal, it is understood that this course of action is not expected.
New ECA rules, which came into force on January 1, 2015, have also been cited as a catalyst for consolidation in Northern Europe's short-sea and feeder markets.
