P&O Ferries returns fifth ro-ro ship to key Dover-Calais crossing

P&O Ferries has announced the return of a fifth Ro-Ro ship on its Dover-Calais route in order to “take back market leadership on the English Channel”.

The European ferry operator said the Pride of Burgundy – a 28,000 tonne vessel with capacity to carry 120 lorries – will return to the vital arterial route in June in freight-only mode, “restoring the P&O Dover-Calais fleet to its pre-pandemic strength of five and expanding options for customers looking to transport goods between Britain and the EU”. 

David Stretch, Chief Executive of P&O Ferries, said: “I am delighted to welcome a fifth ship back to our Dover-Calais fleet, which will increase flexibility for customers and enable us to deliver a cost-effective freight service on the English Channel as the economy returns to normal. Dover-Calais is a vital trade route both for the UK and EU economies as well as the thousands of businesses which rely on our services and we aim to return our market share back to where it belongs.”

In 2019, P&O Ferries’ share of ferry freight volumes on the Dover Strait was more than 50%, although the cross-Channel ferry market has been heavily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic since last year and the UK’s exit from EU rules since January 2021. 

P&O is a leading pan-European ferry and logistics group and a part of DP World, a leading provider of ports and logistics services – which reported robust financial results for 2020 with revenue growing by 11% to $8.55 billion.

P&O Ferries is a major provider of freight transport and passenger travel services, sailing on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. Its logistics business, P&O Ferrymasters, operates integrated road and rail links to countries across the continent including Italy, Poland, Germany, Spain and Romania, and facilitates the onward movement of goods to Europe from Asian countries via the Silk Road.