Attempts to save Sea France have failed after it was liquidated by a French court and told to cease activity.
The Tribunal de Commerce decided Sea France's future after a bailout by the French government was ruled illegal and a workers cooperative rejected .
See full story:
BBC News
France 24
From 13 November:
Dover-Calais ferry operator SeaFrance has suspended its sailings on the eve of a key court hearing about its future. The ferry operator stopped operations at 4am today.
SeaFrance, in administration since June 2010, is the subject of a French court hearing tomorrow that is due to rule whether the company is to be sold or liquidated.
A statement on its website today said: ‘The Board of SeaFrance, and the Receivers have decided, in liaison with the French National Authorities, to suspend the ship operations.
‘We have taken this decision, with full knowledge of the consequences, to safeguard the security of the passengers, crews, vehicles and ships.
‘We are conscious of the inconvenience this situation is causing and we apologise for this. We will keep you informed of any changes in the present situation.’
Staff are taking calls about the suspension of services on 0845 458 0666.
Passengers will be offered sailings on other cross-Channel operators and serry services are expected to resume on Thursday, depending on the outcome of the hearing, according to
Kent Online.
Rival operator P&O Ferries has submitted a formal complaint to the EC Competition Commission in Brussels because it is concerned the French authorities may sell the assets of SeaFrance to a third party at less than fair market value (see today’s other story).
To see the SeaFrance statement, click on
www.seafrance.com
To see the
Kent Online report,
click here.
Previous report:
The future of
SeaFrance ferry services between Dover and Calais has been thrown into doubt by the European Commission after it rejected the company’s financial rescue package, according to reports by
This is Kent and
Reuters.
To see the
This is Kent report,
click here.
Oct 24 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators rejected on Monday a restructuring plan by English Channel ferry operator Sea France, saying the overhaul breached EU state aid rules as the company had not contributed enough to the plan.
"Despite repeated requests from the (European) Commission, France has been unable to show that the financial contribution of the company was exempted from state aid and that it reflected market confidence about its future viability," the Commission said in a statement