IF THERE’S one class of shipowner for whom it is difficult not to feel the old sympathy strings being pulled, it is those who own and operate north European ferries and, in particular, those in the English Channel.
Back in the day — when flying was still the preserve of the gilded few before it became the perverse of the gullible many, and the idea of a foreign holiday for most British families was a fortnight in Brittany playing cards and squabbling in a caravan while it howled an unexpected (though somewhat predictable) hoolie outside — ferries did a roaring trade.
They connected the British Isles and continental Europe for everyone: for tourists, both on foot and in car, and the business links the UK and Ireland needed as they integrated into the European Union.
But ferries got hit by the sort of right uppercut-left jab-right haymaker, combination that once laid Bill Barratry on his back in a shady bar in Zamboanga in 1973. The opening of the Channel Tunnel. With its infinite ability to adjust capacity, the abolition of duty-free — virtually killing their onboard retail revenue streams — and the emergence of low-cost airlines, which devoured the passenger transport market.
To still be running a business after being dealt those kind of body blows in succession takes some doing, and if you then add the recession into the mix the prospect has been frightening, because once ferries had trimmed their costs to the minimum it was freight that kept them in business — and that has dropped like a stone.
Even worse is that there is nowhere for them to turn. Many ferries are designed with specific routes in mind; restricted to certain corners in the world rather than a global shipping business — so a downturn in one market is unlikely to be offset by an upturn in another. The UK and Ireland are flat markets at best.
Unlike many other sectors, the ferry guys had little hand in the making of their misfortune; although let’s not pass judgement too quickly, for P&O Ferriesis about to launch the first of its two new superferries, Spirit of Britain, a $250m beast able to carry 2,000 passengers.
Talk about a stiff upper lip and all that. The admirable Dame Kelly Holmes — with two Olympic Gold medals no less — will name the vessel later this week at Dover, with the second ship due in September.
This in the same week that LD Linecancels an order in the eleventh hour of its construction for a new ro-pax that was due to operate Le Havre-Portsmouth. That’s about as different an interpretation of the market as you are likely to get.
Gavin van Marle is senior reporter for Lloyd’s List.
One Comment
A few years ago, I was working with a cross-channel ferry operator on a fuel efficiency project. Looking at the receipts, I remember being amazed that the revenues from the canteen, gift shop, duty free, and fruit machines were nearly equivalent to the paid fares.