Booking confusion over MyFerryLink
Company website says cross-Channel service closes after July 2 but former owner says a solution is being worked out
CONFUSION surrounds the situation of passengers who have booked Dover-Calais crossings with MyFerryLink – as the company’s website says it will cease operations after July 2, with bookings transferred to another operator.
The company, in limbo after Eurotunnel agreed to sell two of its three ferries to DFDS, is offering passengers three options: get a free transfer to another cross-Channel operator, get a full refund or get an upgrade to Eurotunnel’s Shuttle for an extra £30.
Eurotunnel says it is working to ensure passengers are unaffected by the changeover but if they have doubts they should contact MyFerryLink on 0844 2482 100, where they will get details of their options.
Spokesman John Keefe said: “There will be an announcement shortly on what is happening but passengers are the priority, to make sure that their bookings are honoured during the changeover.”
MyFerryLink says on its website that it will cease operations after July 2 and bookings will be transferred to another carrier. It also takes the opportunity to offer travellers each-way tickets from £45 – up until July 2. The price includes a car and up to nine passengers.
The situation has arisen as DFDS has said it has made a “binding” let-to-buy offer for the two MyFerryLink ferries, Rodin and Berlioz, but has not so far said anything further.
This is due to the complex negotiations surrounding the purchase:
* Eurotunnel is not allowed to sell the two vessels for five years from its date of purchase in 2012, unless it can get a waiver from the Paris commercial court
* The level of crewing on the vessels when they join DFDS
* Negotiations with the current operating company, workers cooperative Scop SeaFrance, where staff have held wildcat strikes since the news was revealed.
Eurotunnel hopes that DFDS will absorb the crews into its own cross-Channel services, where it has up to 10 sailings a day Dover-Calais, plus 12 a day Dover-Dunkirk and two Newhaven-Dieppe.
However, Eurotunnel chairman Jacques Gounon said it was not realistic for all the staff to be retained.
Eurotunnel has acted to close down its MyFerryLink operation after a long-running legal battle with the UK monopolies watchdog CMA.
It has retained one ferry, the freight-only Nord Pas-de-Calais, which it hopes to operate in tandem with its Channel Tunnel Shuttle service – if the CMA agrees.
Rodin crossing Channel photo: Roel Hemkes
