BRITTANY Ferries is planning to order at least two new vessels that can travel 50% faster than those in its existing fleet.
The new ships will have a speed of around 30 knots and be built to carry 3,000 passengers, according to operations and marketing director David Longden.
He said the company wanted to build ships that were a cross between a conventional ferry and a fastcraft.
“A conventional fast ferry would be able to sail in bad weather, and it would be comfortable to travel on at night,” he said.
“Fastcraft are rather fragile and they are dreadfully uncomfortable.”
He estimated the new ships would take two years to build. An announcement about the initiative is set to be made following Brittany’s annual general meeting in March.
Longden claimed the company would be announcing a ‘substantial profit’ for the financial year ending October 31, 1999 although he refused to give details.
He admitted the abolition of duty-free had hit traffic volumes last year, but added that yields were up due to price rises.
The company’s passenger numbers out of the UK fell from 2.7m in 1998 to 2.6m in 1999. A further fare rise of 10%-11% is planned for 2000.
n Brittany has just published new Gites de France, Short Break 2000 and Golfing in France brochures.