Seafrance

SeaFrance

SeaFrance Logo (1996 - 2012)
Former type	Limited
Genre	Ferry company
Fate	Liquidation
Successor	MyFerryLink (Eurotunnel)
Founded	1996
Founder	SNCF
Defunct	9 January 2012
Headquarters	Calais, France
Area served	United Kingdom, France, English Channel, Dover, Calais
Services	Passenger transportation, freight transportation
Owner	SNCF

SeaFrance was a ferry company based in France, wholly owned by the French railways, SNCF, which operated ferry services between Calais, France, and Dover, England.

The company employed a total of 1,850 staff, including 1,300 seagoing personnel, and was the largest employer in the town of Calais. Its sister company, SeaFrance Limited, employed 200 in England. On 9 January 2012 the Commercial Court in Paris announced their decision to liquidate SeaFrance. From then on the company was prohibited from trading, with the loss of 1,850 jobs.

SeaFrance began operations between Dover and Calais in 1996 after the termination of a pooling agreement with Sealink (by then known as Stena Sealink Line) in 1995. The service initially began with the former Sealink vessels Fiesta and Côte d'Azur which became SeaFrance Cézanne and SeaFrance Renoir respectively after extensive refurbishments to create a distinctive French atmosphere on board. Former Sealink train ferry Nord Pas-de-Calais became the MS Nord Pas-de-Calais and operated as a freight only ferry, though SeaFrance did market the ship to passengers as a quiet ship. The three vessels were later joined by the former Stena Londoner which became the SeaFrance Monet. SeaFrance quickly became the second busiest operator on the Dover-Calais route after P&O European Ferries and ahead of their former partners now known as Stena Line. In 1997 the SeaFrance Manet entered service after a five-year charter to Stena Line for the Newhaven—Dieppe service, the ship essentially replaced the Monet which was later sold, after being damaged in Calais. SeaFrance took delivery of the SeaFrance Rodin in 2001, their first new ship and the fastest Dover—Calais ferry. She was joined in 2005 by the SeaFrance Berlioz, a sister ship built at a different yard.