Brittany Ferries axes two Channel routes over €27m carbon bill
Ferry operator to sell two ships and trim crewing as EU emissions costs bite
Brittany Ferries is to close two English Channel routes and sell two ships in response to a 27m euro EU carbon bill, softer passenger demand and the burden of repaying pandemic-era loans. The operator will end its Poole to Cherbourg service from November 2026 and stop sailing Portsmouth to Le Havre by the end of September 2026.
Two vessels are being sold: the 1992-built Barfleur, used on the Cherbourg to Poole run, and the 2007-built Cotentin, which serves Cherbourg to Rosslare. The company's 2026 bill under the EU Emissions Trading System comes to about 27m euros, equivalent to roughly 5% of annual turnover, on top of repayments on its state-backed Covid loan.
Rather than withdraw from the affected corridors entirely, Brittany Ferries plans to replace Poole to Cherbourg with a daily Portsmouth to Cherbourg service, while the Rosslare to Cherbourg link continues with the Clipper stepping in for the Cotentin. From 1 November 2026 the Islander will run a triangular Portsmouth, Guernsey, Cherbourg rotation.
Chief executive Christophe Mathieu pointed to the company's history of adapting to shocks, and said the restructuring should deliver around 20m euros of annual savings. The changes will reduce seafaring positions, though the company has stopped short of a formal redundancy plan, instead planning lower seasonal recruitment for 2027. Brittany Ferries trades as BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande, founded in 1972.
