Brittany Ferries has celebrated 50 years in the business and has seen numbers soar this year

RESERVATIONS for a ferry company have soared this year as the business celebrates 50 years in the industry.
By Sophie Lewis
Published 23rd Jan 2023, 20:55 BST
Brittany Ferries' CotentinBrittany Ferries' Cotentin
Brittany Ferries' Cotentin

Brittany Ferries, which is the most commonly seen ferry operator coming in and out of Portsmouth, has kicked the year off with a bang as the company celebrates 50 years in the business. It says it has seen thousands of people book with them already.

The company, which is based in France, began its life as a freight-only service on January 2, 1973 and the first ferry service managed to link Brittany with Plymouth to deliver a cargo of artichokes and cauliflowers.

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Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and has transported millions of people and business goods across the Atlantic Arc

This year it has already witnessed a 20 per cent increase in reservations and has had, in total, 125,000 more passengers book to travel compared with the same period last year.

The company’s next ship Santoña, which is powered by cleaner liquefied natural gas, is en route to Europe to get ready to enter service in March.

She will set sail from Portsmouth to Santander in Spain and then go on to Cherbourg in France.

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Paul Acheson, director sales and marketing Brittany Ferries, said: ‘It’s early days, but we are delighted with how things are looking this year. Our first sailing took place on 2 January 1973. Fifty years on we have emerged from the Covid era with more people choosing the pace, space and convenience of travelling by sea. More than ever, we are ready to welcome passengers on board to enjoy a vacation in the most beautiful parts of France and Spain.’

Brittany Ferries serves five destinations in northern France which include Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff and two in Spain which are Bilbao and Santander, and the ferries all depart from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth.

As well as cutting congestion and emissions on busy roads, these motorways of the sea have helped enrich local communities by creating a number of jobs and they help to nurture international tourism.

Related topics:Brittany FerriesFrancePortsmouthResidentsSpain