LD Lines - industrial action

[Will]

I have just picked up from a maritime labour relations source that the LD Lines Portsmouth/Le Havre ferry service is the subject of industrial action. So far this has only been in the form of demonstrations by French seafarers, though on one occasion in January the ship was prevented from docking in Le Havre for several hours.

The problem is that LD Lines runs the ship under the Italian Second Register - a sort of low-cost flag of convenience. The owner has, apparently agreed to transfer the ship to either UK or French flag later this year, which has eased the situation (though this carries an extra cost of about £1million per year, which will have to be passed on to ferry users). However, LD Lines has said that it will continue to use a multi-national crew - it is mostly Italian at present, with some British, French and Portuguese - and the French seafarer's union is not satisfied with this, so there is a chance of further action.

It will probably not have a significant effect on services, but LED Lines customers should be aware of the possibility of delays and cancellations.

On a more optimistic note, the company has apparently expressed satisfaction with the first three months of the service and is considering adding a second ship.

[Rob G]

Hi Will,

Interesting to read your comments, especially regarding the company's satisfaction with the first three months of service. Here's what I've just picked up from the Le Havre CCI website:

Après 2 mois d'exploitation de la ligne Transmanche, LD Lines se dit

satisfait du trafic fret mais note une fréquentation médiocre en ce qui

concerne les passagers.

Living just outside Le Havre, the LD Lines service is the ideal way for us to get back to England. In fact, my wife and kids have just gone back to Dorset for five days (total LD Lines cost: 100 GBP). My only comment as regards them not being very happy with passenger numbers is that it's not all that surprising, given that they've done very little in the way of marketing.

The biggest pain with LD is that they only offer one crossing per day in each direction. Perhaps it is because of this limitation that they've decided not to do further promotion at the moment. If they decide to charter a second ship (which is my fervent hope), they will be able to promote the service as a worthy competitor to Brittany Ferries.

Rob

[Will]

I think you are probably right, it is first and foremost a freignt service, so the company's satisfaction refers to that side of things rather than the small number of passengers. I too think the services are timed to freight requirements rather than ordinary travellers. To get a proper picture of the passenger numbers, it will be necessary to look at things after the peak season, the service hasn't been in existence long enough to benefit from much of a demand.