Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation and Stena Line say the merger of their short-sea, cross-Channel businesses is complete and their P&O Stena Line has begun operations.
They said traffic volumes on the short-sea, cross-Channel routes grew strongly last year with both tourist and freight traffic increasing by 12 per cent.
The wider Anglo-continental market had grown by 10 per cent for tourist traffic and 6 per cent for freight.
They said P&O Stena, which has assets of GBP364 million (about HK$4.63 billion), would offer tourist and freight services from Dover to Calais and Newhaven to Dieppe, and a freight-only service from Dover to Zeebrugge.
It would use 11 ships, including one fast craft on the Newhaven-Dieppe service.
P&O Stena, which will be 60 per cent owned by P&O and 40 per cent by Stena, with equal voting rights, will achieve cost savings of GBP75 million, compared with separate operation costs.
