Eurotunnel buys three SeaFrance ferries

THREE ships once owned by the defunct SeaFrance have been bought by Eurotunnel as the company looks to start up a cross Channel ferry operation.

In a statement, Eurotunnel said its offer of €65 million to acquire three ships, The Berlioz, The Rodin and The Nord-Pas-de-Calais, had been accepted by the Paris Commercial Court.

The acquisition will be made through Eurotunnel-owned Eurotransmanche, although it will be independent of Eurotunnel, and it is expected to create 500 jobs in the Calais region and about a hundred in the UK.

There is no firm date on when the new ferry service will start, but the three ships have been out of action for eight months and berthed in French ports so they will require work to bring them back into operation.