UK competition regulator tells Eurotunnel to stop ferry service in six months

The UK competition regulator has told Groupe Eurotunnel, the operator of the undersea rail link between the Dover to Calais ferry service, My FerryLink, between the UK and France, to stop operations of its separate cross-channel ferry service in the next six months and find a buyer for the ships, in a confirmation of  a decision it made in May.

In an immediate response, Eurotunnel said it would appeal the ''absurd'' decision, which it said would mean higher prices for consumers and 600 lost jobs.

The service started operations on the Dover-Calais crossing in 2012 under the MyFerryLink brand. At the time, it acquired three ferries from the now-defunct SeaFrance service owned by French railways operator SNCF.

''Eurotunnel will be given six months to stop running services from the date of an order to that effect. It could also find another owner for the MyFerryLink business, if that made MyFerryLink completely independent of Eurotunnel,'' the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said yesterday.

Justifying the move, the regulator said, with operators on the ferry route running at a loss, the current level of competition was not sustainable and could lead to the exit of a competitor.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported that hundreds of jobs were at risk after Eurotunnel was told to give up its Dover to Calais ferry service.

The Channel Tunnel operator acquired three ferries with the liquidation of Sea France in November 2011. Now the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it had too much market share.

According to CMA spokesman, Alasdair Smith, it was the CMA's view that current competition on the ferry link was unsustainable.

He added two other operators were in the red and any exit of a competitor would leave My FerryLink as one of only two ferry operators, in addition to the competing rail link.

Smith added, Eurotunnel's purchase of the ferries meant it had over half the market and its share could still rise.

It would be better for passengers and freight operators to have three competing operators including Eurotunnel's rail link and two independent ferry operators, he said.