MyFerryLink has lodged an appeal against the UK competition watchdog after it ruled it should close by the end of the year.
In June, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) found that under UK merger control law it had jurisdiction to review Eurotunnel’s acquisition of assets from the former SeaFrance business.
MyFerryLink, which operates up to 24 daily crossings from Dover, said it believes the CMA does not have jurisdiction to review the acquisition and has lodged an appeal before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The ferry company said: “Consistent with its previous, successful, challenge in December 2013 to the CMS’s original decision of 6 June 2013, MyFerryLink continues to believe that the CMA does not have jurisdiction as a matter of UK law and we are confident of arriving at a similarly positive outcome.
“MyFerryLink expects that the case will be heard by the tribunal at a hearing in the autumn, with judgment towards the end of the year or early in 2015.”
As proceedings are ongoing, MyFerryLink is currently able to continue operating.
The CMA ruled in June that the ferry arm must cease operating on the Dover-Calais route in six months’ time.
Earlier this week Eurotunnel reinforced support for its wholly-owned ferry operation, reporting a 31% rise in revenues at the ferry arm to €39 million in the first half of 2014.