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LD Lines was a French shipping company, with both
roro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
freight and passenger
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
operations. It was a subsidiary of
Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
(LDA), which engages in building, owning, operating, and managing vessels. LD Lines operated ferry routes on the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. In 2013, part of LD Lines was spun off and merged with the English Channel operations of
DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions ( DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) ...
to form DFDS Seaways France. In September 2014, the Poole-Gijon/Santander route closed and the ''Norman Asturias'' was immediately laid up off the coast of Saint Nazaire. In mid-September 2014, the Saint Nazaire-Gijon route was suspended and the ''Norman Asturias'' was sent to Algeciras and the ''Norman Atlantic'' to Messina.


History


Le Havre–Portsmouth

LD Lines' English Channel operations commenced in October 2005, operating between
Portsmouth, England Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...
and Le Havre, France. This service was introduced following the withdrawal of
P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...
' long-standing operation on this route. Initially there was one sailing per day in each direction, with the Portsmouth–Le Havre sailing taking place overnight. This utilised one vessel, the MS ''Norman Spirit'', which is ironically a former P&O vessel (used on their
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
route until May 2005). In 2008 the ''Norman Voyager'' was introduced on the route, she was withdrawn in September 2009 and chartered to
Celtic Link Ferries Celtic Link Ferries was an Irish ferry company which used to operate a passenger and freight roll-on/roll-off service between Rosslare and Cherbourg. Celtic Link Ferries ceased operating in February 2014 with Stena Line taking over their r ...
for service between Cherbourg and Rosslare and Cherbourg and Portsmouth. In November 2009 ''Norman Spirit'' was moved to the Dover–Boulogne route, her place was taken by ''Cote d'Albatre'', which remained on the route until the ''Norman Spirits'' return in 2011. On 13 July 2007 it was reported that LD Lines had ordered a new
ro-pax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...
ferry for the route from
Singapore Technologies Engineering Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, doing business as ST Engineering, is a Singaporean multinational technology and engineering group in the aerospace, smart city as well as defence and public security sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, ...
, with an option for another ship of the same type. The ship, the ''Norman Leader'', was to be capable of carrying 1215 passengers and enter service in 2010 on the Le Havre–Portsmouth route. On 17 March 2011, the contract for the purchase of the vessel was cancelled. Reasons given for the cancellation were the delays and questions about the tonnage. The ''Norman Spirit'' resumed sailing on the Portsmouth–Le Havre route in early 2011, but was chartered to
DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions ( DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) ...
in November 2011 to increase capacity on the Dover–Dunkirk route following the collapse of Seafrance. ''Norman Spirit's'' place was taken by the ''Norman Voyager''. The Portsmouth-Le Havre service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013, fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route. DFDS announced in September 2014 that it would discontinue the route due to its unprofitability, and its last crossing was on 31 December 2014.


Dieppe–Newhaven

LD Lines was one of five companies invited to tender for the operation of
Transmanche Ferries Transmanche Ferries is a brand name for the ships on the Newhaven - Dieppe route across the English Channel. The ferry route is operated by DFDS Seaways. History Transmanche Ferries was formed after the previous operator of this route, P&O S ...
service between
Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
and Newhaven.
P&O Stena Line P&O Stena Line was formed in 1998 after the merger of P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd and the Dover and Newhaven operations of Stena Line. History The idea for a joint service was initially put forward in July 1996 and in October of the sam ...
operated the route until 1998 after which
Hoverspeed Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed Sea ...
operated the route until 2004. Because the French government did not want the route to be lost, they started a new subsidised company by the name of
Transmanche Ferries Transmanche Ferries is a brand name for the ships on the Newhaven - Dieppe route across the English Channel. The ferry route is operated by DFDS Seaways. History Transmanche Ferries was formed after the previous operator of this route, P&O S ...
in April 2001. After five years of successful service and the arrival of two newbuilds, the government decided to tender the line in a concession. The contract to operate the service was awarded to LD Lines on 21 December 2006. For this service they were slated to receive an annual subsidy of up to €14.6 million. LD Lines commenced sailings on this route on 1 May 2007. In addition to three round trips between Dieppe and the
Port of Newhaven The Port of Newhaven is a port and associated docks complex located within Newhaven, East Sussex, England, situated at the mouth of the River Ouse. International ferries run to the French port of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, a distance of . Although ...
, LD Lines started a single round trip per day between
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
and Newhaven during high season using the MS ''Seven Sisters''. However, in August 2008 they announced that this service would not be continued. Currently there are two sailings per day each way, (3 in high season) using the ''Cote d'Albatre'' and ''Seven Sisters''. The Dieppe-Newhaven service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013 and is now fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route.


Dover–Calais

LD Lines and
DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions ( DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) ...
announced on 7 February 2012 that they would be launching a joint service between Dover and Calais, commencing on 17 February 2012, using the ''Norman Spirit''. The two companies had previously submitted a joint bid for the assets of Seafrance which was turned down. DFDS later chartered the ''
Barfleur Barfleur () is a commune and fishing village in Manche, Normandy, northwestern France. History During the Middle Ages, Barfleur was one of the chief ports of embarkation for England. * 1066: A large medallion fixed to a rock in the harbour ...
'' from
Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...
to increase the number of sailings on the new route, she was replaced by the '' Dieppe Seaways''. The Dover-Calais service was transferred to DFDS Seaways France in 2013 and is now fully marketed as a DFDS Seaways route. ''Norman Spirit'' has since been renamed '' Calais Seaways''.


Fate

In March 2012, DFDS and LDA entered into an agreement to form a new company that combines DFDS and LD Lines ferry routes in the English Channel and one route between France and Tunisia. During 2013 LD Lines Portsmouth-Le Havre, Newhaven-Dieppe and share of Dover-Calais operation were transferred to the new company known as DFDS Seaways France along with DFDS Seaways Dover-Dunkirk service. DFDS Seaways France is 82% owned by DFDS with the remaining 18% owned by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. LD Lines Saint-Nazaire–Gijón (and later UK and Ireland - Biscay service) was not included in the transaction. LDA sold their remaining share in the venture to DFDS in late 2014 and the venture became fully merged into DFDS.


Former routes


Saint-Nazaire–Gijón

LD Lines launched a
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...
Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...
service on 2 September 2010 using the ''Norman Bridge''. This route received a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
subsidy as part of its Motorways of the Sea project. Such was the success of the service that the ''Norman Bridge'' was replaced by the larger ''Baltic Amber'' which was renamed ''Norman Asturias''. Following the opening of the Poole-Santander route the ''Norman Asturias'' was replaced with the ''Scintu'' which has since been renamed ''Norman Atlantic''. This route is currently suspended with Norman Atlantic released elsewhere.


Poole-Santander

On 3 November 2013, LD Lines launched a service between Poole, England and
Santander, Spain Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017). It is believed to ...
, using the ''Norman Asturias''. This service was formerly operated by
Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...
. The route closed on 7 September 2014.


Poole-Gijón

This service commenced on 4 January 2014, using the ''Norman Asturias''. The crossing time was 25 hours, the route closed on 7 September 2014.


Rosslare-Saint-Nazaire

This service commenced in January 2014, using the ''Norman Atlantic''. It was also marketed as a Rosslare-Gijón via Saint-Nazaire service as the ''Norman Atlantic'' on its usual Saint-Nazaire–Gijón after its round trip to Rosslare. The route closed at the end of August 2014.


Ramsgate–Ostend

LD Lines began operating this route from 18 March 2010 in partnership with TransEuropa Ferries, using the '' Norman Spirit'', which has been renamed the ''Ostend Spirit''. They also sold space on a TransEuropa Ferries vessel, the . In March 2011, TransEuropa Ferries terminated their agreement with LD Lines and the chartered ''Norman Spirit'' was returned to LD lines.


Le Havre–Rosslare

In November 2008, LD Lines opened a weekly passenger and freight service between Le Havre and Rosslare,
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
. The ''Norman Voyager'' operated on the route departing from Le Havre on Fridays and returning from Rosslare on Saturdays. The crossing time was 20 hours. A significant customer of this service was Citroen, who used the route to transport new cars to Ireland. The route closed when ''Norman Voyager'' was chartered to Celtic Link.


Dover–Dieppe

In February 2009, the company started sailing between Dover and Dieppe. The service operated daily with a journey time of around 4 hours 15 minutes, using the ferry ''Cote d'Albatre''. This was the first time that these two ports had been connected with a ferry service. The Dover–Dieppe service ceased on 29 June 2009, due to lack of traffic.


Dover–Boulogne

LD Lines and Boulogne Chamber of Commerce announced on 4 July 2008 that LD Lines would open a service between Boulogne and Dover from 1 July 2009. It was initially planned that the company would initially operate four round trips a day between the two ports using the '' Norman Spirit''. with a second ship joining the route at a later date. In January 2009 it was announced by LD Lines that the route would start early and begin operating from 12 February 2009, using the ''Côte d’Albâtre'', and that the ''Norman Spirit'' will, therefore, remain on the Portsmouth–Le Havre route. Because the new Boulogne ferry terminal was not due to be completed until July 2009, the service initially utilised the terminal formerly used by SpeedFerries. For this service and the former Dover–Dieppe route, the ''Côte d’Albâtre'' was chartered to LD Lines from the Seine Maritime Council. The ''Côte d’Albâtre'' was joined in June 2009 by the 112-metre high-speed catamaran ''Norman Arrow'', which operated four additional round trips on the route. ''Norman Arrow'' was built by
Incat Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built s ...
and was chartered from Irish-based MGC Chartering. She was the largest catamaran operating on the English Channel. ''Norman Arrow'' was deemed unsuccessful on the route and replaced by ''Norman Spirit'' in November 2009, she remained on the route until she was switched to a joint service with TransEuropa Ferries. ''Norman Spirit'' was replaced by ''Norman Bridge'' and ''Norman Trader''. On 16 August 2010 LD Lines confirmed that the ''Norman Bridge'' would be removed from the Dover–Boulogne route on 31 August 2010 and would be used on the St. Nazaire–Gijon route. The remaining services (operated by the ''Norman Trader'') ceased on 5 September 2010.


Past ships

LD Lines' vessel ''Norman Leader'' was due for delivery in summer 2011. The order was cancelled due to "capacities of the vessel not corresponding with those specified originally". The ''Leader'' is slated to enter service on the
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regi ...
route in 2014 as the ''Nova Star''. The French press reported on 23 March 2012 that LD Lines had chartered the from
Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...
in partnership with
DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions ( DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) ...
for their
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
service, to be put into service starting 27 April and renamed MS ''Deal Seaways''.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* {{refend


External links


LD LinesLD Lines Freight
Ferry companies of Belgium Ferry companies of England Ferry companies of France Ferry companies of Ireland Ferry companies of Spain Connections across the English Channel