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The background to the above announcement is that carryings on the route have been dire. LD introduced the Norman Bridge but she was initially plagued with technical problems. She had to go away to drydock to have one of her rudders fixed after the bearing at the top of the rudder stock failed. No sooner had she got back than the same thing happened to the other rudder and she had to go away again.
This may have led to a loss of confidence amongst freight companies who require a service to be reliable, and LD were already struggling with a poor image after several other false starts (Norman Spirit coming and going, Cote d'Albatre not fitting in Dover or Boulogne, Norman Arrow not living up to expectations, Dover-Dieppe being closed in short order, Newhaven-Dieppe being reduced to one ship, etc). This may have been the reason why, on introducing the Norman Trader to run in tandem with Norman Bridge on a two ship service to Boulogne, the total carryings were less than those previously carried by Norman Bridge on her own!
Norman Bridge will now operate a new service between Saint Nazaire and Gijon. This is a joint venture with Italian shipowner Grimaldi Lines under the banner GLD Atlantique. It will be subsidised as part of the EU "Motorways of the Sea" project, quote "The service will benefit from a €30 million (US$39.5m) subsidy over a four-year period, as well an additional €4 million grant spread over seven years, from the EU within the framework of its Marco Polo II funding programme for projects that shift freight from roads to sea, rail and inland waterways."
