News


LD Lines goes solo on Motorway of the Sea as Italian partner pulls out


Italy’s Grimaldi Lines has pulled out of the ro-ro Motorway of the Sea (MoS) service between France and Spain launched in partnership with French counter- part LD Lines, writes Stuart Todd. The lines’ joint-venture, GLD At-


High-profile ro-ro initiative suffers major setback only days after launch of first service More significantly, it is set to


lantique, made its commercial debut on 8 September with LD’s Norman Bridge plying three weekly round-trips between Nantes-Saint-Nazaire and Gijon. While the French operator has


pledged to run the service on its own, Grimaldi’s volte-face repre- sents an embarrassing develop- ment, given the hype which the MoS programme has attracted.


benefit from €30 million (US$39m) of state aid over a four-year pe- riod, as well as an additional €4 million subsidy, spread over seven years, from the EU within the framework of its Marco Polo II funding programme for projects that shift freight from roads to sea, rail and inland waterways. No one was available at Grimaldi


to comment on the reasons for its withdrawal from the MoS, but media reports point to a disagree- ment with LD Lines on the vessel operating the route, while the Ital- ian shipping company had appar- ently voiced concerns over the


viability of the service. LD Lines MD Christophe San- toni told Lloyd’s Loading List:


“It goes without saying that we


will continue running the service, alone and with the same level of commitment as when Grimaldi was alongside us.” He added that the outlook for


freight traffic on the route was en- couraging, with the Portuguese market looking particularly prom- ising. The Motorways of the Sea proj-


“Grimaldi has not explained to us why it has pulled out other than to say they wish to concentrate on their core business.


ect is an idea promoted by the EU to reduce road motorway traffic within and between European countries. It was proposed in 2001 to form part of a “Trans-European Network” of transport links throughout the EU.


Freighting Update | September 27, 2010 | F7


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