DFDS Seaways have announced their intention to expand services on their freight only route from Immingham to Rotterdam and have joined with LD Lines to take up the slack left by the liquidation of SeaFrance. Just days after the French group went into liquidation the two companies reiterated their sentiments that there was capacity on for a RoRo service on the Dover and Calais route. The ferry groups have cooperated before, in November DFDS chartered an LD Lines vessel, the Norman Spirit to bolster its Dunkerque/Dover services.

The intention now is to employ up to three hundred staff, principally from the one thousand or so laid off by SeaFrance and confirms the bid originally made last year when DFDS and Luis Dreyfus Armateurs, LD Lines parent company, tried to purchase assets of the French line but were turned down by the Courts. A joint statement says:

"The commercial court of Paris has decided to liquidate SeaFrance. Our intention is to operate two ships under the French flag to be manned with French seafarers. To open a new route, and provide an attractive service for customers, we aim to hire about 300 staff and expect to be able to start the recruitment process soon. The new route would be operated by vessels currently owned by the joint venture or vessels available on the market."
 
 
Source: handyshippingguide