DFDS is to close its last two Irish Sea services at the end of the month, after it was unable to sell the routes or return them to profit.
The Danish shipping firm said the services between Dublin and Birkenhead and Heysham, which it took over when it acquired Norfolkline in late 2009, would close because they had made “substantial losses” over the last few years, and the DFDS was unable to turn the situation around.
It was not revealed how many staff would lose their job because of the closures, but DFDS said consultations had begun with the 50 land-based personnel directly affected, with the aim of “mitigating the consequences of any resultant redundancies”.
CEO of DFDS Niels Smedegaard said: “It is with deep regret, that we close these routes. “Despite an impressive effort from employees and a very comprehensive analysis of the market and evaluation of turnaround scenarios, we have not succeeded in developing viable solutions for the routes. “Market conditions in the area are quite simply too difficult and, unfortunately, we do not envisage any improvement in the near future.”
DFDS said the losses had been caused by considerable overcapacity on the market, the result of a sharp decline in demand since 2008.
Port terminal and sales agency operations in Dublin will also be closed.
Two ro-pax ships are deployed on the Birkenhead route and one ro-ro vessel on the Heysham service. Options for the vessels, and their crews, are being investigated, including sale, charter and alternative deployment on DFDS’s network.
One ro-pax ship is expected to be transferred to DFDS’s Baltic route network.
The closing of the routes will also result in the termination of several contracts with external suppliers.
Last month, DFDS sold its services between Belfast and Birkenhead and Belfast and Heysham to rival operator Stena Line, now the largest operator on the Irish Sea, for almost €50 million (US$62.2m).
Stena is to take over port operations at terminals in Belfast, Birkenhead and Heysham and four ships: the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the Liverpool-Belfast route; and the freight carriers Scotia Seaways and Hibernia Seaways.
The Danish shipping firm said the services between Dublin and Birkenhead and Heysham, which it took over when it acquired Norfolkline in late 2009, would close because they had made “substantial losses” over the last few years, and the DFDS was unable to turn the situation around.
It was not revealed how many staff would lose their job because of the closures, but DFDS said consultations had begun with the 50 land-based personnel directly affected, with the aim of “mitigating the consequences of any resultant redundancies”.
CEO of DFDS Niels Smedegaard said: “It is with deep regret, that we close these routes. “Despite an impressive effort from employees and a very comprehensive analysis of the market and evaluation of turnaround scenarios, we have not succeeded in developing viable solutions for the routes. “Market conditions in the area are quite simply too difficult and, unfortunately, we do not envisage any improvement in the near future.”
DFDS said the losses had been caused by considerable overcapacity on the market, the result of a sharp decline in demand since 2008.
Port terminal and sales agency operations in Dublin will also be closed.
Two ro-pax ships are deployed on the Birkenhead route and one ro-ro vessel on the Heysham service. Options for the vessels, and their crews, are being investigated, including sale, charter and alternative deployment on DFDS’s network.
One ro-pax ship is expected to be transferred to DFDS’s Baltic route network.
The closing of the routes will also result in the termination of several contracts with external suppliers.
Last month, DFDS sold its services between Belfast and Birkenhead and Belfast and Heysham to rival operator Stena Line, now the largest operator on the Irish Sea, for almost €50 million (US$62.2m).
Stena is to take over port operations at terminals in Belfast, Birkenhead and Heysham and four ships: the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the Liverpool-Belfast route; and the freight carriers Scotia Seaways and Hibernia Seaways.