LD dumps Dieppe

French owner LD Lines has scrapped its new ferry run from Dover to Dieppe due to lack of demand.

A spokesman for the Louis Dreyfus-owned company said that the service, launched in February, had not generated enough passenger and freight business to make it viable.

He said: “The decision was purely for commercial reasons. It is disappointing because we thought that it would appeal to hauliers and tourists by cutting the journey times to western France.”

One conventional ferry was making one trip per day as well as two to Boulogne. The Boulogne service will continue.

The spokesman added: “Dover to Boulogne is a shorter crossing – just one hour on the fast ferry and an hour and forty five minutes on the other, while it was four and a quarter hours Dover to Dieppe and Boulogne is a popular short break destination.

“The ferries to Boulogne have been running very well, particularly since the launch of the fast ferry. It’s a different market.”

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