Craig

Re: LD Lines Poole to Santander/Gijon (was Norman Asturais to Santander) Depends on their definition of commercial success ? Perhaps they mean it attracts a lot of commercial traffic......though they may not make money from it ! At the end of the day, unless they make no mention of the route then any mention is going to be positively spun rather than saying "we also go from here to here but it's a bit of a dud!"

Re: Future of Cotentin Possible future solution but perhaps they reckon they can realise some income on the charter market whilst they fork out a load of cash to convert existing vessels that are already suited to their route network?

Re: Sandbanks ferry out of action Indeed it did, I believe when the Chain ferry had stopped for the night. Following this it was agreed that stopping on the Studland side offered the greatest chance of the chains not being snagged.

Re: Schedules 2015 I imagine they justify it by looking at historical booking information, the knowledge of how much it actually costs to run vessels, the likely revenue and the cost of taking vessels out for dry dock at other times of the year. Don't forget that the dry dock planning will be based around getting suppliers and specialists to a vessel as well as a physical slot at a dockyard at the right price.

Re: Barfleur to Plymouth this winter You are absolutely right on the question of her suitability, amply demonstrated by her stints ( when still fully kitted out with all the niceties ) when standing in on Caen service. Not enough cabins and not enough space spread around enough levels to be welcomed by regulars on the route - even though it was low season during refit period. She is essentially a short crossing day vessel with cabins. Equipping a seat lounge to cabins would be feasible and would mirror the other side of the vessel where 2 berth crew cabins are provided. I think it was suggested over the years as an option for possible adaptation, including moving the seats to a bolt on at the back above the bar (a la Tregastel) but whether that would be worth it now in light of her age is debatable. Probably leave it to the Greeks or whoever the modern equivalent of the 1990's Greek inheritors of cross-channel ferries are !

Re: Barfleur to Plymouth this winter Better something than nothing ? Plenty of years in the past when Plymouth shut shop for the winter.

Re: Brittany Ferries return to profit (2012/13) The increases in almost all passenger areas is quite minimal and freight is down in all but one area. The increases on Poole - Cherbourg seem to correspond closely to the decreases on Portsmouth - Cherbourg. I'd say the saving grace would be the comparative fuel costsof Barfleur compared to the NEx ?

Re: Transmanche: Doubts cast on future of Dieppe-Newhaven ferry Freight doesn't necessarily want a fast crossing that is harder to work in to driver rest periods.

Re: ETRETAT: Brittany Ferries Economie Not all hazardous cargo has to go open deck but does she not have an open deck at the stern for that which does ?

Re: ETRETAT: Brittany Ferries Economie Monday afternoons aren't necessarily that busy. Freighters used to lay over in Poole until 16h00 and then not go that full. There is the afternoon to Caen that goes before and you have to remember that the sailings may be configured just to get something over to the other side for a busier crossing back. Not every sailing in both directions will have the same demand, plus the Etretat in freight mode can take the hazardous cargo that may be restricted on other ships. May be a niche market but for hauliers that ship a variety of loads and have an account, it is one way to keep that traffic with BF and not send it Dover.

Re: ETRETAT: Brittany Ferries Economie Not really. If all the booked freight is there and the loading is finished, if there is no reason to wait then they may as well go. Unlike passengers, freight offices can usually call the haulier and work out if the late runners are going to make it or not and work accordingly. If a haulier knows there is no hope, it's in their interest to get on the phone and get a later confirmed space or move something that has arrived early for a later sailing. This then frees up a confirmed space later. Freight is very different from passenger operations in that sense. Hauliers will often have several bookings and provide reg numbers throughout the day. Bookings can be a mixture of confirmed or waitlist and is often an indication of the value of the account.

Re: Things you'd like to see from BF Have to wonder if they or other operators would receive bad publicity for skirting around the regs and running non compliant ships as part of a fleet that is being made compliant. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of how polluting shipping actually is, it might be a publicity own goal. Their website has made much of how environmentally friendly they have attempted to be and how respectful of the seas they are for many years. Dumping a 'dirty old polluter' on a route just to avoid the rules might be see as cynical profiteering.....

Re: Harwich-Esbjerg route to close Either way, far from scientific or professional. There are lots of things I like that I'd never use or be able to afford. That doesn't mean a business plan to satisfy investors can be built around it. I think asking the question if you would like something to be available is very different from would you actually use it at X amount of times and pay X amount of money.

Re: Industrial Action I would bet money on veterans who fought their way up a beach under gunfire to be entirely nonplussed by a small delay. Contrast that with Mr & Mrs 2.4 and a Twitter account who would doubtless be outraged, appalled and seeking compensation for the emotional distress caused. Given that the veterans battled ashore to liberate a nation, the irony that there are people able to demonstrate and withdraw their labour (without being shot ) is possibly not lost on them either.

Re: Harwich-Esbjerg route to close Had a look at their website. Have to say that a company that is asking people to 'Like' them on Facebook to show investors how popular a service would be, doesn't really suggest a serious proposition with financing or a decent business plan in place.