Brittany Ferries president Jean-Marc Roue

Brittany Ferries Sues DFDS for GBP 125 Million Over Market Distortion on Newhaven–Dieppe Ferry Route

FerryBrittany Ferries has launched legal action against Danish shipping company DFDS. The Portsmouth-based operator claims that grants received by DFDS to run the loss-making Dieppe – Newhaven ferry route have cost its business GBP 125 million since 2013. In an action filed with the Brest Commercial Court, Brittany Ferries is seeking to recover significant losses resulting from what it considers unfair competition.

‘Subsidies granted by the Syndicat mixte transmanche (SMPAT) in Normandy allow DFDS to levy artificially low fares that are out of touch with economic reality,’ said company president Jean-Marc Roué in an interview with French newspaper Le Marin. ‘This draws a significant proportion of freight and passenger traffic to the Newhaven–Dieppe route, to the detriment of Brittany Ferries.’

Roué criticised the overcompensation of operating costs for DFDS, calling it a ‘waste of public money’, and noted that the Normandy Regional Audit Office has criticised the system on two occasions, without any change in SMPAT’s policy. The next hearing is set for 6 June in Brest. In addition to civil action, Brittany Ferries has lodged a complaint at the European level with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition.

May 28 2025