A ferry firm plans to bring new high-speed services to Dover by May – creating an estimated 700 jobs.
Navmed Limited, formed by former Hoverspeed employees, will initially offer services to Calais and Boulogne, then to Ostend, and plans to use three ships.
It is currently in negotiations to buy the two former Hoverspeed Seacat fast ferries taken out of service last November.
Navmed is also aiming to re-establish a ferry service from Folkestone.
One of the backers of the company, David Rice of Shikara Holdings, said: “We’ve got the right amount of backing to make it work and therefore we need to make sure that we capitalise on everything.
“All our staff are going to be working hard to make sure that the company is a success,” he said.
Leader of Dover District Council, Paul Watkins, said as well as bringing more options for travel out of Dover, it would be a boost for competition and jobs.
“We have a local workforce that’s used to working in this trade and hopefully they’re going to be used to their fullest extent and capacity,” he said.
POSTED: 17/03/2006 15:08:49
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