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Eurotunnel blocked from Dover ferry service Eurotunnel blocked from Dover ferry service
(35 minutes later)
The UK Competition Commission has ruled that Eurotunnel may no longer offer ferry services from Dover.The UK Competition Commission has ruled that Eurotunnel may no longer offer ferry services from Dover.
The channel tunnel operator began operating a ferry route between Dover and Calais in August last year, under the MyFerryLink name. The channel tunnel operator, which began operating a ferry route between Dover and Calais in August last year, said it will appeal the decision.
But the Competition Commission now says the move would lead to price rises for customers. But the Competition Commission now says the move would lead to price rises for passengers and freight customers.
Eurotunnel already runs the channel tunnel rail link, on which passenger and car services operate. Eurotunnel already runs the channel rail tunnel, including the Le Shuttle Dover to Calais car rail service.
It bought three ships from Sea France when it went into liquidation in November 2011. It bought three ships from Sea France, which went into liquidation in November 2011, and began leasing them out last summer to the new MyFerryLink service, which is run primarily by former Sea France employees.
"Eurotunnel would increase its market share to over half and prices would rise," the Commission said in a statement. "By adding ferries to its existing channel tunnel business, Eurotunnel would increase its market share to over half and prices would rise," the Commission said in a statement.
The watchdog said Eurotunnel bought the ferries in order to make sure that a rival, DFDS/LD, could not buy them cheaply and then drive down the price of cross-channel travel.
It was also concerned that another of the two remaining independent Dover-Calais ferry operators was likely to be driven out of the market, strengthening Eurotunnel's hand further.
"It cannot be good for competition when Eurotunnel, which already holds a market share of over 40%, moves into the ferry business," said Alasdair Smith, deputy head of the Competition Commission.