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SpeedFerries was a low cost ferry operator which
started in May 2004 and continued in business until November 2008. It
operated one route between Dover in England and Boulogne in France. It had
only one high-speed ferry, called SpeedOne. Its founder and CEO was
Curt Stavis, originally from Denmark.
SpeedFerries was the first low cost fast ferry operator in the English
Channel, and faced considerable opposition from the existing ferry
operators, whom SpeedFerries accused of acting unfairly and using illegal
practices. These allegations included blocking berths to prevent ferries
docking, spying, and hoax bomb scares. In response, SpeedFerries liveried
its ship with 'Fight the Pirates' on the side.
Reports in the maritime press indicated that SpeedFerries had secured a
second vessel for use in 2007 which was likely to be the Mastercat,
a 91 m (299 ft) Incat catamaran which was to be replaced with a larger
vessel by its owners, Master Ferries. However, Master Ferries were unable to
secure the larger vessel so Mastercat was no longer available to
SpeedFerries. Sailings to be operated by the second vessel were advertised
on the SpeedFerries website. In May 2008, SpeedFerries bought SpeedOne
from Incat.]
In February 2007, SpeedFerries signed a lease on the former Dover Hoverport,
though not the terminal building, at Dover's Western Docks, and subsequently
moved operations there in March 2007. Once the move was achieved,
SpeedFerries was able to provide exclusive facilities in both of its ports
as it no longer shared them with other operators.
Ref:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeedFerries
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