- Title: Brittany Ferries investing despite brexit woes
- Date: 23rd June 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 22, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTOPHE MATHIEU, CEO OF BRITTANY FERRIES, SAYING: "We see the future with great confidence although, like other times in the company, we know we're going to have to be careful. We need to be careful and go through a bit of a rough sea. But we know that after the bad weather always comes the good weather."
- Embargoed: 7th July 2017 11:36
- Keywords: Brittany Ferries brexit EU ship freight passengers sterling euro
- Location: PORTSMOUTH, & LONDON, ENGLAND UK / AT SEA
- City: PORTSMOUTH, & LONDON, ENGLAND UK / AT SEA
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0026MHYYKT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: On the first anniversary of Britain's vote to leave the EU, Brittany Ferries has announced a significant investment with the construction of their biggest ever ship and their first to be powered by LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Brittany Ferries started operations the day the UK joined the Common Market on 1st January 1973. Ever since, their operations have been transporting people and freight between the UK and the Continent. They remain confident about the future despite the challenges of Brexit.
The company says construction of a first new ship since 2009 underlines its resolve and comes off the back of what it says is their best performance in a decade. Turnover was up 5.2% to 454.9m euros in 2016 while passenger numbers were up 3% to 2,676,500, the fourth successive year they have risen.
Honfleur will be one of the most environmentally friendly ships regularly operating in the English Channel. Unlike diesel, LNG emits around 25% less carbon dioxide during combustion and burns with no smoke. It is sulphur-free and emits smaller amounts of nitrogen oxide and PM (particulate matter).
Engines that run on LNG-electric propulsion are generally quieter, more efficient and less prone to vibration, meaning a smoother journey for passengers.
The announcement follows a 65 million pounds investment that has seen sulphur and particulate-reducing exhaust emissions systems retrospectively fitted to six Brittany Ferries ships over the last 18 months.
To be built in Germany, Honfleur will enter service in June 2019 as the eleventh ship in the Brittany Ferries fleet. She will operate on the company's busiest route between Portsmouth and Caen, making three daily return journeys.
More than 80% of people travelling on Brittany Ferries ships are British. 2.67 million passengers are now carried each year across routes covering southern England, western France, Spain and Ireland. Portsmouth-Caen is the most popular route taking around 1 million passengers, 300,000 cars and 100,000 freight units annually.
Liquefied Natural Gas is a process by which a liquid is created from a naturally occurring gas. This is cooled to a temperature of -162 degrees Celsius, which shrinks it by a factor of 600 in volume and creates a liquid.
LNG-powered ferry services already operate in the Baltic Sea and in Norwegian waters. The technology is tried, tested and safe. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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