by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Serious competition concerns have been raised by Eurotunnel’s successful £52m bid for three ex-SeaFrance ferries and plans for a new Dover-Calais service.

A French court cleared the way yesterday for a third ferry force on the Dover-Calais route, raising the prospect of 100 new jobs in Dover.

Eurotunnel would not run the service itself but lease the ships - Berlioz, Rodin and Nord-Pas-de-Calais - to a workers’ co-operative of 600 former employees of SeaFrance which was declared officially bust in January.

The planned operation, provisionally dubbed “Eurofunnel,” will be headed by former Brittany Ferries boss Jean-Michel Giguet and could start later this summer after a technical overhaul of the ships which have been idle in the port of Calais for eight months.

Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive officer of Groupe Eurotunnel, said: “I am delighted that the pragmatic approach taken by Eurotunnel has convinced the Commercial Court. This will aid economic development and will further support the transport of people and goods between the continent and Great Britain.”

If “Eurofunnel” goes ahead, it will trigger a fierce cross-Channel battle with P&O, which recently invested in two new superferries, and DFDS/LD Lines which has just launched a two-ship Dover-Calais service. Customers could benefit from lower fares, although all the players would be under increased financial pressure in a tough economic climate.

However, P&O said it was concerned by the decision to allow Eurotunnel, which already has more than 40% of the cross-Channel market, to buy the assets of a former player. It would be seeking further clarification.

Spokesman Brian Rees said: “Our concern is that this might be a distortion of competition when Eurotunnel get the assets of what was a big ferry operation and we need to make sure there is fair competition in the future. “

He added: “It would be unthinkable that the competition authorities don’t look at it and it will be very odd if they don’t invite views from other people in the market.”

There are also question marks over whether Eurotunnel is paying a fair market rate for the ships. DFDS, which also bid for the ferries, has asked the EU to investigate whether the deal complies with merger rules, and if it flouts a European Commission ruling against further state aid for SeaFrance.

Charlie Elphicke, Dover MP, called on the competition authorities to probe the deal, warning that far from creating jobs, it could threaten jobs at P&O and DFDS.