 | |
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Fate | Partly sold toDFDS Seaways and partly shut down |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | English Channel Bay of Biscay |
Key people | Pierre Gehanne,Chairman |
| Services | Passenger transportation Freight transportation |
| Parent | Louis Dreyfus Armateurs |
| Divisions | New Channel Company |
| Website | www.ldlines.com |
LD Lines was a French shipping company, with bothroro freight and passengerferry operations. It was a subsidiary ofLouis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), which engages in building, owning,operating, and managing vessels.[1] LD Lines operated ferry routes on theEnglish Channel, theBay of Biscay and theMediterranean Sea.
In 2013, part of LD Lines was spun off and merged with theEnglish Channel operations ofDFDS Seaways to formDFDS Seaways France. In September 2014, the Poole-Gijon/Santander route closed and theNorman Asturias was immediately laid up off the coast of Saint Nazaire. In mid-September 2014, the Saint Nazaire-Gijon route was suspended and theNorman Asturias was sent to Algeciras and theNorman Atlantic to Messina.
LD Lines' English Channel operations commenced in October 2005, operating betweenPortsmouth Harbour, England andLe Havre, France. This service was introduced following the withdrawal ofP&O Ferries' long-standing operation on this route.
Initially there was one sailing per day in each direction, with the Portsmouth–Le Havre sailing taking place overnight. This utilised one vessel, theMSNorman Spirit, which is ironically a former P&O vessel (used on itsDover–Calais route until May 2005). In 2008 theNorman Voyager was introduced on the route, she was withdrawn in September 2009 and chartered toCeltic Link Ferries for service between Cherbourg and Rosslare and Cherbourg and Portsmouth. In November 2009Norman Spirit was moved to the Dover–Boulogne route, her place was taken byCote d'Albatre, which remained on the route until theNorman Spirit return in 2011.
On 13 July 2007 it was reported that LD Lines had ordered a newro-pax ferry for the route fromSingapore Technologies Engineering, with an option for another ship of the same type.[2] The ship, theNorman Leader, was to be capable of carrying 1215 passengers and enter service in 2010 on the Le Havre–Portsmouth route.[3] On 17 March 2011, the contract for the purchase of the vessel was cancelled.[4] Reasons given for the cancellation were the delays and questions about the tonnage. TheNorman Spirit resumed sailing on the Portsmouth–Le Havre route in early 2011, but was chartered toDFDS Seaways in November 2011 to increase capacity on the Dover–Dunkirk route following the collapse ofSeaFrance.[5]Norman Spirit's place was taken by theNorman Voyager.
The Portsmouth-Le Havre service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013, fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route.DFDS announced in September 2014 that it would discontinue the route due to its unprofitability, and its last crossing was on 31 December 2014.[6]
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LD Lines was one of five companies invited to tender for the operation ofTransmanche Ferries service betweenDieppe andNewhaven.P&O Stena Line operated the route until 1998 after whichHoverspeed operated the route until 2004. Because the French government did not want the route to be lost, they started a new subsidised company by the name ofTransmanche Ferries in April 2001. After five years of successful service and the arrival of two newbuilds, the government decided to tender the line in a concession. The contract to operate the service was awarded to LD Lines on 21 December 2006. For this service they were slated to receive an annual subsidy of up to €14.6 million. LD Lines commenced sailings on this route on 1 May 2007. In addition to three round trips between Dieppe and thePort of Newhaven, LD Lines started a single round trip per day betweenLe Havre and Newhaven during high season using the MSSeven Sisters. However, in August 2008 they announced that this service would not be continued. Currently[clarification needed] there are two sailings per day each way, (3 in high season) using theCote d'Albatre andSeven Sisters.
The Dieppe-Newhaven service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013 and is now fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route.
LD Lines andDFDS Seaways announced on 7 February 2012 that they would be launching a joint service between Dover and Calais, commencing on 17 February 2012, using theNorman Spirit.[7] The two companies had previously submitted a joint bid for the assets ofSeaFrance which was turned down.[8] DFDS later chartered theBarfleur fromBrittany Ferries to increase the number of sailings on the new route, she was replaced by theDieppe Seaways.
The Dover-Calais service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013 and is now fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route.Norman Spirit has since been renamedCalais Seaways and again toIsle of Innisfree.
In March 2012, DFDS and LDA entered into an agreement to form a new company that combines DFDS and LD Lines ferry routes in the English Channel and one route between France and Tunisia.[9] During 2013 LD Lines Portsmouth-Le Havre, Newhaven-Dieppe and share of Dover-Calais operation were transferred to the new company known as DFDS Seaways France along with DFDS Seaways Dover-Dunkirk service. DFDS Seaways France is 82% owned by DFDS with the remaining 18% owned by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. LD Lines Saint-Nazaire–Gijón (and later UK and Ireland - Biscay service) was not included in the transaction.
LDA sold its remaining share in the venture to DFDS in late 2014 and the venture became fully merged into DFDS.[citation needed]
LD Lines launched aSaint-Nazaire–Gijón service on 2 September 2010 using theNorman Bridge. This route received aEuropean Union subsidy as part of itsMotorways of the Sea project. Such was the success of the service that theNorman Bridge was replaced by the largerBaltic Amber which was renamedNorman Asturias. Following the opening of the Poole-Santander route theNorman Asturias was replaced with theScintu which has since been renamedNorman Atlantic. This route is currently[when?] suspended with Norman Atlantic released elsewhere.
On 3 November 2013, LD Lines launched a service betweenPoole, England andSantander, Spain, using theNorman Asturias.[10] This service was formerly operated byBrittany Ferries. The route closed on 7 September 2014.
This service commenced on 4 January 2014, using theNorman Asturias.[11]The crossing time was 25 hours, the route closed on 7 September 2014.
This service commenced in January 2014, using theNorman Atlantic. It was also marketed as a Rosslare-Gijón via Saint-Nazaire service as theNorman Atlantic on its usual Saint-Nazaire–Gijón after its round trip to Rosslare. The route closed at the end of August 2014.
LD Lines began operating this route from 18 March 2010 in partnership withTransEuropa Ferries, using theNorman Spirit, which has been renamed theOstend Spirit. They also sold space on a TransEuropa Ferries vessel, theMV Larkspur. In March 2011,TransEuropa Ferries terminated their agreement with LD Lines and the charteredNorman Spirit was returned to LD lines.
In November 2008, LD Lines opened a weekly passenger and freight service between Le Havre andRosslare,Republic of Ireland. TheNorman Voyager operated on the route departing from Le Havre on Fridays and returning from Rosslare on Saturdays. The crossing time was 20 hours.[12] A significant customer of this service wasCitroen, who used the route to transport new cars to Ireland. The route closed whenNorman Voyager was chartered to Celtic Link.
In February 2009, the company started sailing between Dover and Dieppe. The service operated daily with a journey time of around 4 hours 15 minutes, using the ferryCote d'Albatre. This was the first time that these two ports had been connected with a ferry service. The Dover–Dieppe service ceased on 29 June 2009, due to lack of traffic.
LD Lines and Boulogne Chamber of Commerce announced on 4 July 2008 that LD Lines would open a service between Boulogne and Dover from 1 July 2009.[13][14][15] It was initially planned that the company would initially operate four round trips a day between the two ports using theNorman Spirit. with a second ship joining the route at a later date. In January 2009 it was announced by LD Lines that the route would start early and begin operating from 12 February 2009, using theCôte d’Albâtre, and that theNorman Spirit will, therefore, remain on the Portsmouth–Le Havre route.
Because the new Boulogne ferry terminal was not due to be completed until July 2009, the service initially utilised the terminal formerly used bySpeedFerries. For this service and the former Dover–Dieppe route, theCôte d’Albâtre was chartered to LD Lines from the Seine Maritime Council. TheCôte d’Albâtre was joined in June 2009 by the 112-metre high-speed catamaranNorman Arrow, which operated four additional round trips on the route.Norman Arrow was built byIncat and was chartered from Irish-based MGC Chartering. She was the largest catamaran operating on the English Channel.[16]Norman Arrow was deemed unsuccessful on the route and replaced byNorman Spirit in November 2009, she remained on the route until she was switched to a joint service with TransEuropa Ferries.Norman Spirit was replaced byNorman Bridge andNorman Trader.
On 16 August 2010 LD Lines confirmed that theNorman Bridge would be removed from the Dover–Boulogne route on 31 August 2010 and would be used on the St. Nazaire–Gijon route. The remaining services (operated by theNorman Trader) ceased on 5 September 2010.[17]
| Ship | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MS Norman Asturias | 2007 | Returned to Stena RoRo, currently[when?] on charter to Brittany Ferries. |
| MS Norman Atlantic | 2009 | Returned to Visentini, on charter to Anek-Superfast. Caught fire in December 2014 |
| Norman Arrow | 2009 | Now[when?] KatExpress 1 with Max Mols |
| Norman Trader | 1998 | Now[when?]Kaiarahi with Interislander of New Zealand |
| Norman Bridge | 1998 | Now[when?] MSAquarius Brasil with Equinox Offshore |
| Norman Leader | 2010 | Order cancelled by LD Lines; vessel sold toNova Star Cruises. Now Nova Star with Polferries |
| Deal Seaways | 1992 | Returned to Brittany Ferries, renamedBarfleur |
| Norman Voyager | 2008 | Returned to Stena Line, renamedStena Livia |
| Norman Spirit | 1991 | Transferred to DFDS Seaways France asCalais Seaways |
| Dieppe Seaways | 2002 | Transferred to DFDS Seaways France |
| Cote d'Albatre | 2006 | Transferred to DFDS Seaways France |
| Seven Sisters | 2006 | Transferred to DFDS Seaways France |
LD Lines' vesselNorman Leader was due for delivery in summer 2011. The order was cancelled due to "capacities of the vessel not corresponding with those specified originally".[18] TheLeader is slated to enter service on thePortland, Maine–Yarmouth, Nova Scotia route in 2014 as theNova Star.[19]
The French press reported on 23 March 2012 that LD Lines had chartered theMV Barfleur fromBrittany Ferries in partnership withDFDS Seaways for theirDover–Calais service, to be put into service starting 27 April and renamed MSDeal Seaways.[20]
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