Freight News, Sea

DFDS and LD get it together

[ March 27, 2012   //   Chris ]

DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Lines have formed a new joint company combining all their Channel routes plus an LDA Mediterranean service. From 1 July, the new company will operate nine passenger and freight ferries on four routes in the Channel and one in the Mediterranean, with DFDS owning 82 % of the company and LD 18%. Routes included are DFDS’s Dover-Dunkirk service, the recently launched joint Dover-Calais route and LD’s Portsmouth-Le Havre, Newhaven-Dieppe and Marseille-Tunis routes.

LD Lines will transfer four chartered ships and one owned ship to the joint venture. In the Channel, DFDS operates three ships on the Dover-Dunkirk route and, in partnership with LD lines, two ships on Dover-Calais. Both operations will be transferred to the new company.

LD’s St. Nazaire-Gijon service will not be included in the joint venture.

President and CEO of the DFDS Group, Niels Smedegaard, said the new venture would create a new and stronger company is formed that is well positioned to deliver the ferry services that are required by our customers in the very competitive market on the Channel.”

President of LD Lines, Gildas Maire, added: “We strongly believe that this is the right answer to the many challenges the industry has to cope with and are confident this fully integrated network will offer our clients a unique flexibility.”

 

Tags: DFDS, Freight, Logistics, Louis Dreyfus, Shipping