Great Western Coffee Shop

The UK's only ferry link to Scandinavia is to close for good, marking the "the end of an era", its operator says. The route between Harwich, Essex and Esbjerg in Denmark, run by DFDS Seaways, has been in operation for nearly 140 years. The company said the route "has been struggling for a long time" and would not be able to take on costs associated with a new environmental law. The final ferry is to sail on Sunday.

Chief executive of DFDS Seaways, Niel Smedegaard, said: "The route is of particular historical significance to DFDS so it's a very sad day for us all. "Our regrets go to our many passengers who must now see the last passenger ferry route between the UK and Scandinavia close."

From 1 January 2015, a European Union directive aimed at reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from ships will come into force. DFDS said this would have resulted in a ^2m a year increase in the cost of the Harwich to Esbjerg ferry route.

Mr Smedegaard said the company had not been able to reduce costs enough to enable the route to bear the extra charges.

In June last year, the Sirena Seaways vessel running the Harwich-Esbjerg route hit the quay while docking and started to let in water. There were 489 passengers on board, but no-one was trapped or injured. The crash caused severe damage to the quay and holed the ferry in several places, some below the waterline. An investigation found one of the ship's back-up systems was keeping an engine running at 63% power when it was approaching the dock. This prevented tugs from moving the vessel so passengers could disembark safely. At the time, DFDS said changes were made to stop such an accident happening again.

Ferry company DFDS has announced it is to close its Portsmouth and Le Havre service by the end of the year.

The company said the daily service to Normandy carried 185,000 passengers last year, but has been losing money.

It said cost-cutting measures since 2012 had had limited effect.

A DFDS statement said the prospect of higher fuel costs to comply with tougher EU limits on sulphur emissions from 2015 meant the route "does not have a viable future".

It said it would be holding consultation with French unions about the closure.

DFDS is also closing the Portsmouth-Le Havre route for the same reason:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-29217806


I don't think Brittany Ferries launching an 'Economy' ferry service on this route helped either.

This makes me wonder when the "low cost airline bubble" will burst*.  Does charging low fees to airlines mean there is little money in the pot to pay for extensive and unexpected repairs, like the issue at GSE?

* = I have recently paid fares as low as ^13.99 for Stansted to Gothenburg City and ^19.99 for Stansted to Gdansk.  I cannot see any way the airline and airport can cover their costs with these airfares alone.