Channel travel moves into fast lane with super ferries

[Grumpy]

The French have transformed rail travel with their 200mph TGV trains and now trips to France across the Channel could be revolutionised by the advent of the BGV - Bateaux a Grande Vitesse.

In what could herald the latest outbreak of ferry wars on the short sea crossing between England and France, a British-based company has put in an order for five French-designed BGV super-fast trimarans up to 210 metres long - twice the length of a football pitch or almost as long as an aircraft carrier.



The ambitious plan is for the BGVs - capable of travelling at up to 55 knots, or more than 60mph, and designed to carry passengers and freight - to make the crossing from Boulogne to Sheerness, transforming the Medway port in north Kent into a gateway for traffic from the Continent to the London Olympics in 2012.

The challenge to the dominance of P&O and SeaFrance comes from Chikara Shipping, a UK subsidiary of a US company registered in Belize, fronted by entrepreneur John Paul Airs.

The e400 million (£270 million) fleet of trimarans will transform cross-Channel travel, according to Airs, who has refused to disclose Chikara's backers but insists its finances are in place.

Unveiling plans for the trimarans, capable of carrying up to 1500 passengers, 260 cars, 84 lorries and 10 coaches, Airs has told shipping executives the BGVs will "change the face of shipping and transport".

He plans a "sea motorway network" linking Sheerness and Boulogne with Santander and Vigo in northern Spain and Drammen in Norway.

The super-fast trimarans are in development with BGV France, which is based in the south of France, but with contracts for their construction yet to be signed they are unlikely to be in commission in the Channel until the summerof 2008.

By then Chikara may have been overtaken by another would-be entrant into the short sea market, Euroferries, a new venture headed by Geoffrey Ede, the former boss of the Hoverspeed Sea-Cat.

Its Channel operations were closed down 13 months ago by its financially troubled parent Sea Containers.

Ede is in negotiation to bring to the UK the £16 million fast-ferry Spirit of Ontario, which has been serving passengers between Toronto and the state of New York.

It is currently out of service having been brought down the St Lawrence river to Nova Scotia in readiness for transfer to Britain.

Euroferries plans to run its cross-Channel service out of Dover after the port rejected Chikara's proposals.

Current short-sea operator SpeedFerries, run by Scandinavian entrepreneur Curt Stavis, is planning to launch a second catamaran between Dover and Boulogne by the summer.

[Riise]

Quite interesting! Once again, though, I'll be missing out on the high-speed action. At least this time it won't be due to our crappy governments on the shoddy side of the Atlantic but because I live in a land locked Province.

[BTinSF]

Originally Posted by Riise

Quite interesting! Once again, though, I'll be missing out on the high-speed action. At least this time it won't be due to our crappy governments on the shoddy side of the Atlantic but because I live in a land locked Province.

Please read the article carefully again and note that the companies doing this are "a UK subsidiary of a US company registered in Belize" (Chikara) and/or a former executive of Sea Containers, a Bermuda-based company mostly owned by US investors (including, at one time, myself). Also, don't be fooled by the fact that niether of these companies is actually registered in the US. That is a function of several US laws--the maritime law (which over-regulates US-registered shipping companies) and tax law (which over soaks all companies).

This is a long saga:

AN EPIC cross-Channel saga took a further twist this week as a fast-ferry firm agreed to buy five new vessels.

Earlier this year, the Express revealed details of a company, then called Navmed, headed by entrepreneur John Paul Airs.

Aiming to sail to both Calais and Boulogne, the operator intended to be in the water by May 15 but was hit by a series of blows.

First Navmed and financial backers Chikara Holdings split, leading to its project team being laid off. Then, in a further blow, it lost a bidding war for vessel Spirit of Ontario to rival company Euroferries.

After months of wrangles, ferry industry insiders were writing the company off, despite insistence from Mr Airs that he still intended to run services from Dover.

But on Monday it was announced firm Chikara Shipping had signed a letter of intent for the purchase of five brand-new Bateau Grande Vitesse (BGV) vessels for cargo and passenger services intended for several cross-Channel routes.

Mr Airs has also put an option on four more craft.

Boulogne is currently in the process of becoming the hub port for a fast cargo BGV service linking France, Norway, northern Spain and Sheerness.

It is building a new "roll-on, roll-off" berth to take the ships, revolutionary stainless-steel trimarans, which will be ready to enter service by late next year.

On its website, the French boat builder says its fast vessels can travel at up to 55 knots, more than 10 knots quicker than rival SpeedFerries’ Speed One. Their design also gives them extra stability in rough seas.

Mr Airs declined to comment on the agreement or on the possible routes for the new ships.

AS CHIKARA Shipping announced plans to buy five new ships, rival Euroferries had still not completed its sale of the Spirit of Ontario.

The sale was agreed in May for a price of £16.1 million but the boat has remained in the USA in the port of current owner the City of Rochester.

Recent reports had suggested the city was tiring in the long delay in the sale, believed to be caused by problems with operating finance, and was receiving rival bids from other firms.

At the beginning of June, Euroferries agreed to pay the city £3,200 for every day the 86.6 metre boat remains in port.

This would see it landed with a bill of more than £480,000 as well as the purchase price.

TIMELINE

MARCH 2006

The Express reveals two new ferry operators are in negotiations to run from both the Eastern Docks and the disused International Hoverport. Company Navmed is in talks for the former while Euroferries has agreed a lease on the latter with DHB. A week later the Express unveils Navmed’s plans, which involve three new ships running to both Boulogne and Calais, creating more than 700 jobs. The firm says it is in the process of securing large catamaran Spirit of Ontario from its American owners along with former Hoverspeed craft Diamant and Rapide. The company also expresses interest in starting services from Folkestone.

APRIL 2006

Interviews take place to find staff for Navmed, with a service start date of May 15. The firm is revealed to be one of four bidders interested in the Spirit of Ontario but says it is confident it will secure the purchase. John Paul Airs says that if a fourth ship can be found, services will also run to Ostend. Later in the month, the Express reveals that the two companies involved in the organisation - Navmed and financial backers Chikara Holdings -have split, with the latter going it alone. A small project team working out of Folkestone is laid off.

MAY 2006

Rival firm Euroferries, headed by former Hoverspeed boss Geoffrey Ede, confirms it has agreed the £16.1 million purchase of the Spirit of Ontario. A war of words breaks out after Mr Ede attacks rival bidders, branding them "would be if they could be" companies. Mr Airs hits back, but later admits that a start date of May 15 is not looking realistic.

JULY 2006

The sale of the Spirit of Ontario is delayed. Mr Airs says he will rejoin the bidding for the vessel if it falls through.

OCTOBER 2006

Navmed is the subject of a documentary on BBC South East. The programme features disgruntled former members of staff who were not paid for their service. Mr Airs pledges to resolve the issue and insists he will still start services from Dover.

OCTOBER 30, 2006

Mr Airs signs a statement of intent to buy five high-speed vessels from French firm BGV.

Source: http://www.boulogne-hub.com/spip.php?article57&lang=fr

^^^And note that one of the vessels involved in this scheme is actually American.

[brian_b]

Has anyone seen this company and their attempts for very fast surface transport? They have a 5-passenger prototype that goes about 85 mph and have a goal of a 18-24 passenger boat that will be running in the 170 mph range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzDDF9LXsDg

[LostInTheZone]

how could any ferry ever compete against air travel and a fixed high-speed rail crossing? Isn't there an inherent disadvantage?

[seaskyfan]

^ The big advantage ferries have is that you can take your car with you.

[BTinSF]

^^^Theoretically, you can take your car with you on a train. AMTRAK has had their "AutoTrain" service to Florida for decades. But there is one and only one "Chunnel". If you want to go to some other part of the Northwest coast of Europe, it isn't likely anybody is going to build another rail tunnel to accomodate you. High speed ferries can be like the busses to the Chunnel's rail in any transit system. They can provide convenient point to point service on slightly lower demand routes.

[nick_taylor]

Originally Posted by seaskyfan

^ The big advantage ferries have is that you can take your car with you.

Scrap that advantage as well! The Channel Tunnel has an operation called the Eurotunnel Shuttle that operates from both portal ends in England and France


England Portal





French Portal



The Trains



Eurotunnel Shuttle with Lorry carriages (the carriage at the front is for the drivers)



Eurotunnel Shuttle with car/motorbike carriages

[M.K.]

I like the project, something really new to make our transportation faster. Hope to make many jobs and being reality soon.

[seaskyfan]

Nick-

Is there a big cost difference between taking your car on the ferry versus the train?

[LostInTheZone]

^the train still ought to be inherently more efficient. Ferries use a lot of fuel. Unless it was subsidized the train ought to be cheaper.

[seaskyfan]

^ I think the train could be more expensive because of the costs to build and maintain the tracks/tunnels which the ferry doesn't have (aside from terminals, which trains have as well).

[nick_taylor]

Originally Posted by seaskyfan

Nick-

Is there a big cost difference between taking your car on the ferry versus the train?

If I booked today to take a car via the Eurotunnel Shuttle it would cost £127. By car ferry it is £70.

The big difference however is that the Eurotunnel Shuttle is located outside the ferry ports meaning you don't get caught up in local traffic. The added bonus is that it takes 30mins to cross, compared to 90mins on the ferry.

[seaskyfan]

^ Thanks for the info. Are there any other factors that make the ferries more competitive? For example, do you need to reserve weeks ahead for the train versus just showing up for the ferry?

[Grumpy]

Why do the locomotives looks this dirty , any particular reason?

[PeterG]

Those high-speed ferries will not last in operational service - if they even get to that point.
Running a ship 200m+ in length at 55 knots will be so damned expensive, fares will have to be very high just to make a profit, and no one will travel on them.
Add that to the fact that SpeedFerries, the first low cost channel ferry operator, have started a price war on the Dover-France services, the new ships are just not feasible.
The current operators of 100m InCat's operating at less than 40 knots have huge problems making any money with them - purely because the ships are so expensive to run, and have a lot of technical difficulties.
I would be flabberghasted if we ever see these ships in commercial service.

[nick_taylor]

Originally Posted by seaskyfan

^ Thanks for the info. Are there any other factors that make the ferries more competitive? For example, do you need to reserve weeks ahead for the train versus just showing up for the ferry?

The English Channel is the busiest waterway in the world and this restricts the number of cross-channel ferries (although dozens still operate), and I think it would be unlikely that you could just turn up and go. Same for the Euroshuttle Express.




Grumpy - The trains spend most of their life in tunnels, they also don't move away from the tunnel portals (where the Euroshuttle Shuttle terminals are located), so I'd presume that there is little incentive to clean the locomotive when they won't be gracing the likes of London St Pancras or Paris Gare du Nord.

[elfabyanos]

Originally Posted by nick_taylor

The English Channel is the busiest waterway in the world and this restricts the number of cross-channel ferries (although dozens still operate), and I think it would be unlikely that you could just turn up and go. Same for the Euroshuttle Express.

You can turn up and go for the train, but sometimes there are no spaces left on the next trains, be prapared at peak times to be hearded into a car park for an hour and a half before going to the holding area and boarding. But they've built a small shopping mall for those waiting and requiring duty-frees.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by PeterG

Those high-speed ferries will not last in operational service - if they even get to that point.
Running a ship 200m+ in length at 55 knots will be so damned expensive, fares will have to be very high just to make a profit, and no one will travel on them.
Add that to the fact that SpeedFerries, the first low cost channel ferry operator, have started a price war on the Dover-France services, the new ships are just not feasible.
The current operators of 100m InCat's operating at less than 40 knots have huge problems making any money with them - purely because the ships are so expensive to run, and have a lot of technical difficulties.
I would be flabberghasted if we ever see these ships in commercial service.

I wouldn't bet on that. Though not quite as extreme, there is a cross Lake ferry service that crosses a much greater distance at about 40mph (34knots) and is not quite as large as the 200m they are talking about that seems to make a living. That and this route would not be nearly as traveled as a cross channel, this ferry goes from Milwaukee across Lake Michigan to Muskegon Michigan.

http://www.lake-express.com/

I would not be surprised at all if this service came to be and was very profitable...