Ed, certainly not a subsidy - much more a form of asset capitalisation as MFL heads towards long term profitability. A subsidy is used to support a long term unsuccessful venture - after only 7 months in the market it would be a little unfair to tar us with that brush!
As Brian highlights, ET use the spots for overspill.
Martin, interesting question regarding capacity - I'll ask the Ops Director tomorrow, I'm keen to find that out for myself.
Paul, hopefully travelling with us! If you're not, drop me a line at
lglover@myferrylink.com and we'd love to show you the service
. I'm sure Philippe will be happy to tell you what SCOP SeaFrance (the workers co-operative's name) is doing for unemployment in the region.
I'd be delighted to organise a meeting at your convenience to discuss what MFL could do to market Dover to our continental users and web traffic.