THE RETURN OF A YACHTING HEROINE
TRANSPORT company Brittany Ferries will not be restarting sailings from Plymouth next month as stringent travel restrictions continue on both sides of the Channel.
The French-owned firm has decided to extend the suspension of some services operating between the UK, France and Spain.
Only essential travel is currently permitted, and the company said there is little prospect of this easing in the near future.
Four ships that are currently laidup, but which had been due to resume service in late March, will not now resume service until mid-May at the earliest.
Under the revised plans:
The Pont-Aven will not resume journeys between Plymouth and Roscoff and Santander from March 22. It will also not resume sailing on the Cork to Roscoff route.
The Cap Finistère will not restart voyages from Portsmouth to Bilbao and Santander, and the Bretagne will not begin sailings from Portsmouth to St Malo.
The Barfleu will also not resume its Poole to Cherbourg journeys.
Brittany Ferries, which has its UK headquarters in Plymouth, will contact customers who hold bookings on affected sailings, to offer alternative travel or a refund.
The firm said some ships and routes will however continue to operate as scheduled, to accommodate those with essential travel requirements and to allow freight to flow freely.
It means Armorique will take to the water, on a route to be confirmed, and Connemara will sail from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Bilbao.
The new Galicia vessel will sail between Portsmouth and Santander and Cherbourg, and the Mont St Michel will operate between Portsmouth and Caen.
There will be freight-only service on the Cotentin between Portsmouth and Le Havre, and on the Normandie between Portsmouth and Caen.
Brittany Ferries said it will remain a predominantly freight-only service for now. However, while it thanks its freight customers and drivers for their support during the crisis, only 20 per cent of its annual turnover comes from freight traffic. About 80 per cent of annual income is generated by holidaymakers.
In 2020, the company secured a €117 million loan from French banks to carry it through what it called the most difficult period in its history.
It said it has therefore been forced to take tough decisions on costs throughout the crisis, to ensure the long-term viability of routes and services.
Brittany Ferries said it remains committed to serving passengers, freight and supporting businesses throughout the regions it serves, and thanked everyone for their patience and messages of support.
“Naturally we very much regret any inconvenience that these changes will cause our customers,” said Christophe Mathieu, Brittany Ferries’ chief executive.
“We had hoped for a return to service for all our routes in mid-March, but the reality is that most people are simply unable to travel at this time.
“Booking levels are extremely low and we are relying on loans to carry us through this difficult period. It is therefore simply not viable to run lossmaking routes at this time.”