Ferry firms angry at wasted Dover port privatisation talks
Ferry Online Travel News 21/06/2010
P&O Ferries lodging official complaint over wasted time and money.
P&O, SeaFrance and Norfolkline described the talks held so far with Dover Harbour Board about plans to privatise the port as a “meaningless waste of time”. The three companies are unhappy about plans to sell off the Dover port. They say the £60 million in funding the provided towards a second terminal will have been wasted if privatisation plans go ahead. P&O Ferries says the plans for Dover port amount to little more than the privatisation of a monopoly. It says the resulting pricing could harm the ferry industry.
Dover port has been run as a trust for over 4004 year and is the most profitable of the UK’s trust ports. Other UK Trust Ports include Milford Haven, Tyne and Poole. The profitability of some of the ports, especially Dover, makes their sale exceedingly attractive for the government, which is struggling to find ways of plugging a huge hole in the public purse.
The three ferry companies with the most to lose at the port of Dover, have been scathing about the talks held with Dover Harbour Board, saying months of discussions have made no difference whatsoever to the concerns raised by the ferry operators. P&O Ferries has filed a complaint with the secretary of state for transport. A spokesman for Dover port said the port was not aware of the statement by the ferry firms and talks were ongoing.
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