Brest (AFP)

Brittany Ferries ends the contract signed with the German shipyard FSG for the construction of what was to be its first vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Breton company announced on Thursday, strongly affected by the coronavirus crisis.

"Brittany Ferries confirms its decision to end the contract for the construction of its next LNG vessel, the Honfleur," the company told AFP, confirming information from the weekly Le Marin.

"The company will communicate on this news in the coming days," she added, making it known that she expected a loss of turnover between March and the end of October of between 200 and 250 million euros.

In 2019, its turnover had reached 469 million euros.

According to Le Marin, the FSG yard, located in northern Germany, filed for bankruptcy in May.

The Honfleur, costing 180 million euros, was to be the first French passenger ship powered by LNG, a fuel that significantly limits polluting emissions. It was also to be the "largest and most modern LNG ferry in Europe", according to the company.

Its construction had started in March 2018. Its hull was launched in December of the same year during a ceremony attended by several hundred people. But the site then accumulated delays.

The ship was to enter service in July 2019 on the Caen-Ouistreham / Portsmouth line, in the south of England, the busiest of the company, with 922,000 passengers and 280,000 cars transported each year.

With 187 meters in length, it had to be able to carry nearly 1,680 passengers and 130 freight trailers or 550 cars and 64 freight trailers.

LNG is a fuel of the future in maritime transport, with an almost total reduction of sulfur emissions, but also of nitrogen oxides (NOx). It also reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 to 25%.

Brittany Ferries employs between 2,400 and 3,200 people depending on the season. In 2019, the company transported 2.5 million passengers, 866,000 cars and 201,500 trucks between France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain.

MPs asked Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Monday for "emergency measures" for cross-Channel passenger transport companies, stressing that they were not linked to the tourism recovery plan, although they contribute to its development .

© 2020 AFP