Author Topic: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways  (Read 44824 times)

Offline frederik

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #60 on: July 07, 2007, 09:58:51 AM »
Hi,

The Phocine just arrived in Zeebrugge from Purfleet. She is expected to sail tomorrow 4.30pm to Killingholme. Maybe she will resume sailing from/to Zeebrugge.
The Calibur is expected to call Zeebrugge tomorrow morning 6am. She is now sailing for P&O Ferries on the route Zeebrugge-Hull.

greetz,

frederik
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Offline potts

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #61 on: July 07, 2007, 04:49:20 PM »
Ipswich Dockers seem to be the only people to have been s**t on in this legal mugging thanks alot you belgium & london W**k*rS!!! nothing like fethering your own nest 44 of us being made redundant! :-x

Offline frederik

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #62 on: July 07, 2007, 05:47:26 PM »
Hi Potts,

Do you realy think you can solve the problem with this abusive language? Do you realy think that we in Belgium are happy with this situation?
By the way, we haven't seen you last year is Strasbourg when we where there to protest against the Port Package II.

greetz,

frederik, Proud to be a Belgian docker!!!!
Proud to be a Belgian docker!

Offline exferryman

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #63 on: July 08, 2007, 07:56:05 AM »
It's quite amusing to read this VRT news article:
http://www.flandersnews.be/cm/flandersnews.be/News/070707_New+ferry+group+lands+in+Ostend
Cobelfret's press office seems to be trying to bury the whole episode by rubbishing Ferryways (photo of Ipswich Way 'running aground'!!) and trying to infer that Ferryways went into liquidation BEFORE the takeover.

Listen up people - COBELFRET BOUGHT FERRYWAYS AS A GOING CONCERN, STRIPPED OUT THE ASSETS AND THEN FORCED IT INTO LIQIDATION.

Offline CHIPS

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #64 on: July 08, 2007, 08:51:40 AM »
Well put as usual Exferryman,

What is interesting though, the article states 'TerminalCo will be introducing a new third destination soon', I would like to think this will be Ipswich, the location is spot on, customers & hauliers are happy with the port! Has anybody got any positive information regarding this please?


 :lol:

Offline ferryold

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #65 on: July 08, 2007, 10:18:11 AM »
RE:Hi Potts,

Do you realy think you can solve the problem with this abusive language? Do you realy think that we in Belgium are happy with this situation?
By the way, we haven't seen you last year is Strasbourg when we where there to protest against the Port Package II.

greetz,

frederik, Proud to be a Belgian docker!!!!

Hi Fredrik,
I think Potts has a point.
The only reason why Cobelfret is so big is their usage of East european, low paid crews. By registering ships under belgium flag, which cobelfret did a few months ago, they are receiving maximum tax reduction if the crews are 100% NON-EU. Some progressive way of making shipping attracktive in Belgium. And in a few years time, the same goverment will start wanking they can't get good maritime experts for jobs such as Pilots. So, yes be proud te be a belgium docker, be think twice before agreeing with Cobelfret.

Cheers Ferry

Offline Jordan Seifarth

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #66 on: July 08, 2007, 11:21:47 AM »
I dont think Cobelfret are any different from any other in the respect of crewing with very cheap crew. Ferryways ships had Romanian crews for example. Practically every ship under a western European flag has nearly, if not all of its crew hailing from either eastern Europe or the Philippines etc. It doesn't help matters when under British law for instance, a British ship must pay a minimum wage to an AB of

Offline frederik

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #67 on: July 08, 2007, 12:29:03 PM »
Quote

ferryold wrote:
RE:Hi Potts,

Do you realy think you can solve the problem with this abusive language? Do you realy think that we in Belgium are happy with this situation?
By the way, we haven't seen you last year is Strasbourg when we where there to protest against the Port Package II.

greetz,

frederik, Proud to be a Belgian docker!!!!

Hi Fredrik,
I think Potts has a point.
The only reason why Cobelfret is so big is their usage of East european, low paid crews. By registering ships under belgium flag, which cobelfret did a few months ago, they are receiving maximum tax reduction if the crews are 100% NON-EU. Some progressive way of making shipping attracktive in Belgium. And in a few years time, the same goverment will start wanking they can't get good maritime experts for jobs such as Pilots. So, yes be proud te be a belgium docker, be think twice before agreeing with Cobelfret.

Cheers Ferry


Hi Ferry,

Please read my previous reply as I have write it. I never agreed with Cobelfret or the way they f**ked up Ferryways. We Belgian dockers are also not very happy or amused with what happend to Ferryways. The only thing I have said in my previous contribution is that abusive language is not helping the problem solving.
And what I said about the protest against the Port Package II last year in Strasbourg: we haven't seen any dockers from English or British ports. There where a lot of French, Spanish, German and yes, also Belgian dockers in Strasbourg. Without the demonstration the Port Package II  was, perhaps, accepted. Then every docker was loosing his job. So don't say we don't care about oure English colleagues or we enjoying with what happens in Ipswich.
With verbal trashing we won't solve anything.

greetz,

frederik, Still proud to be a Belgian docker!!!
Proud to be a Belgian docker!

Offline ferryold

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #68 on: July 09, 2007, 09:33:13 AM »
Hi Ferry,

Please read my previous reply as I have write it. I never agreed with Cobelfret or the way they f**ked up Ferryways. We Belgian dockers are also not very happy or amused with what happend to Ferryways. The only thing I have said in my previous contribution is that abusive language is not helping the problem solving.
And what I said about the protest against the Port Package II last year in Strasbourg: we haven't seen any dockers from English or British ports. There where a lot of French, Spanish, German and yes, also Belgian dockers in Strasbourg. Without the demonstration the Port Package II was, perhaps, accepted. Then every docker was loosing his job. So don't say we don't care about oure English colleagues or we enjoying with what happens in Ipswich.
With verbal trashing we won't solve anything.

greetz,

frederik, Still proud to be a Belgian docker!!!

Hi Frederik,

First of all, it isn't meant as a verbal war, just a discussion.
Secondly, i disagree. P&O Ferries, Stena Line, Norfolkline are just a few companies who still sail with English and or dutch officers and Captains. It should be encouraged by Goverments to employ crews, only from one of the countries the ferries are sailing to/from. In this way the competition is fair in respect to crewing and laybour (nation wide labour contracts). With the busy, time limited port turn arounds, lashing should always be done by stevedores, not crews.
If this should be done, it's fair for everyone and a lot of european (english/Belgium/Dutch)labour would have been saved instead of being redundent for saving some pennies.

Offline Ian G Hardie

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #69 on: July 09, 2007, 09:51:17 AM »
My view is someone should get the Ipswich Way arressted by Ferryways creditors

Regards
Ian
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Offline mooringman

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #70 on: July 09, 2007, 11:05:22 PM »
hi,it is sad what happened there.but i wonder,why this big ferry companies can sail on their vessels with this cheap crews.it is the same in the baltic,most of the roro ferries got cheap crews.the governments,the EU,the local authorities and the unions have the fault on these circumstances,because they all did not enough against these bandits of shipowners,which want make the maximum profit with minimum wages of her crews.i will say,the governments and the EU supported it.the next workers will be the dockers in the EU,which are the loosers,if they not fight against ideas like "port package II" and so on....

Offline bobrayner

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #71 on: July 10, 2007, 07:36:35 PM »
This is selfish, protectionist, and hypocritical.

Let's compare shipping to another industry to see why: Imagine a situation where European consumers are only allowed to buy goods (clothes, perhaps, or electronics) made locally, instead of buying ones made in China. This is the same as your ideal that we should force ships to be crewed by the most expensive workers. What happens in this comparison? Well, as price signals are hidden behind protectionist laws, incomes will decrease (because workers who wouldn't normally make clothes/electronics are moving to suboptimal jobs &c). Also, costs of goods will increase very much (for obvious reasons). Consequently, workers are a lot worse off, with the exception of anyone who (a) gets a job making the protected goods, and (b) couldn't get a better job elsewhere in a free market. Subsidising this handful of people might sound worthy, but it's not worthy enough to justify the effects on everyone else.

Anyway, back to shipping. Presumably you'd like these native workers to be paid higher wages but still reap the benefits of globalisation elsewhere? These workers would still like to spend their extra pay on cheap goods & services from outside the EU, rather than be forced to spend much more money on a smaller range of goods & services made locally. Presumably you'd like other people to continue buying goods & services from cheaper places too, to keep the ships running, right? This is pure hypocrisy.

Business owners who act in their own interest, lowering prices to offer a service to many more people, are not bandits.

Before you call them bandits, have a look around you; look at the goods in your house and the services you consume. If you paid a huge premium to get them from local workers, then at least your argument is consistent. I think it's much more likely that, like everyone else, you wear clothes made in Thailand from Chinese fabric, use a Taiwanese computer with software written by people all around the world, &c - if so, you too are a "bandit", and your argument is hypocritical.

Surely the shipping industry, of all industries, recognises how much it's gained from free trade and deregulation in the past? It's not the 18th century any more - nobody who understands the subject really believes that trade is a zero-sum game.

Offline John Jones

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #72 on: July 12, 2007, 08:36:52 AM »
According to AIS-Live it would appear that 'Ipswich Way' is sailing into the Thames this morning (12th July.)

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John J.
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Offline exferryman

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #73 on: July 12, 2007, 05:45:30 PM »
Hi John
Yes, Ipswich Way, Ostend Way and Anglian Way are now sailing Ostend>Dartford.  
Best news for Cobelfret is that P&O are starting new Rotterdam>Tilbury sailings next week.

Offline henrycourt

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Re: Cobelfret Ferries buys Ferryways
« Reply #74 on: July 12, 2007, 06:07:35 PM »
Have you any more details about new service you mention ???? Forth Ports Plc owners of Tilbury Docks state on their web-site that a new Ro-Ro service is starting between Tilbury and Zeebrugge operated by P & O.

 

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