MyFerryLink has received a favourable verdict from the UK’s Court of Appeal (CAT), strengthening its battle against the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block its operation between Dover and Calais.
The CMA prohibited MyFerryLink’s parent firm, Groupe Eurotunnel, from entering the Dover-Calais ferry market, saying that its acquisition of SeaFrance in 2012 allowed the company to hold a dominant share of the cross-channel market.
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MyFerryLink CEO Raphael Doutrebente and COO Jean-Michel Giguet said: The decision of the Court of Appeal is very comprehensive, exposing fatal flaws in the CMA’s analysis.
"The decision represents a significant victory both for our dedicated employees and for our customers, who will continue to benefit from healthy competition on the short sea route."
Doutrebente and Giguet also added that the decision should now end the CMA’s attempts to suppress the MyFerryLink business.
Following the authority’s decision, Groupe Eurotunnel had decided to sell the English Channel passenger and freight ferry company MyFerryLink.
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By GlobalDataLater, Groupe Eurotunnel subcontracted the operation of the ferries Rodin, Berlioz and Nord-Pas-de-Calais to an independent company, the SCOP SeaFrance.
The company said that the CAT has now definitively over-turned the CMA’s conclusions after a series of legal challenges led by the SCOP.
The company had previously argued that the CMA had no power to make this decision, as SeaFrance ceased business after its acquisition by the company.
MyFerryLink has transported around 400,000 trucks and 350,000 cars since operations started in 2012.
