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LD Lines relents over union demands on Norman Spirit flag
LD Lines, operator of the new Le Havre-Portsmouth ferry service, has given into French seafarer union demands that the ship on the line should be switched from Italian to British or French flag.
The Louis Dreyfus Armateurs subsidiary, which started the service in early October after the closure of the existing P&O service, said that the ship, the Norman Spirit, would be put under British flag by September 30 at the latest.
LDA director general Pierre Gehanne indicated that the switch would cost the company EUR 1.5m ($1.82m) in extra costs annually but said that LD Lines had decided that it would pay this price to ensure that the service was able to operate in secure conditions.
"We cannot risk endangering the security of the ship and passenger through violent action as was the case the last time," he said referring to the disruption to the service caused by union action on December 8.
"We cannot take the risk either of having the service interrupted regularly by union action." Mr Gehanne said the company agreed on a compromise solution after meeting union representatives on Thursday.
He added that he considered it "regrettable" that the company should be obliged to bow to union threats when it was complying with all legal and regulatory requirements. The crew of the Norman Spirit is currently Italian in the majority but includes British, French and Portuguese personnel.
Mr Gehanne said the crew would continue to be multinational under British flag.
Despite the dispute, which prevented the Norman Spirit from docking at Le Havre for several hours on December 8, he said he was satisfied with the line's performance during its first three months of operation.
He said the line had carried an average of 50 lorries, 50 cars and 157 passengers per crossing since it started and that this average had been largely exceeded over the recently holiday period.
The Louis Dreyfus Armateurs subsidiary, which started the service in early October after the closure of the existing P&O service, said that the ship, the Norman Spirit, would be put under British flag by September 30 at the latest.
LDA director general Pierre Gehanne indicated that the switch would cost the company EUR 1.5m ($1.82m) in extra costs annually but said that LD Lines had decided that it would pay this price to ensure that the service was able to operate in secure conditions.
"We cannot risk endangering the security of the ship and passenger through violent action as was the case the last time," he said referring to the disruption to the service caused by union action on December 8.
"We cannot take the risk either of having the service interrupted regularly by union action." Mr Gehanne said the company agreed on a compromise solution after meeting union representatives on Thursday.
He added that he considered it "regrettable" that the company should be obliged to bow to union threats when it was complying with all legal and regulatory requirements. The crew of the Norman Spirit is currently Italian in the majority but includes British, French and Portuguese personnel.
Mr Gehanne said the crew would continue to be multinational under British flag.
Despite the dispute, which prevented the Norman Spirit from docking at Le Havre for several hours on December 8, he said he was satisfied with the line's performance during its first three months of operation.
He said the line had carried an average of 50 lorries, 50 cars and 157 passengers per crossing since it started and that this average had been largely exceeded over the recently holiday period.
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