by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Two shipping operators have launched a joint bid for the SeaFrance cross-Channel ferry business.

DFDS, the Danish company that runs the Dover-Dunkirk service previously operated by Norfolkline, has teamed up with French firm Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group (LD Lines) to make the bid.

SeaFrance went into receivership in June last year and bids had to be made by July 26, 2011.

If the bid is successful, DFDS and LD will form a joint company, with DFDS the majority shareholder, to acquire the assets of SeaFrance.

The Dover-Dunkirk route and LD Lines’ four routes would be transferred to the new company.

LD Lines formerly operated a ferry service between Dover and Boulogne but it ceased last year after intense competition.

French-owned SeaFrance has struggled to make a profit on the competitive cross-Channel route and faced trade union pressure to maintain jobs.

However, hundreds have gone in the past two years. It operates three passenger ferries and one dedicated freight ferry.

In 2010, it carried 2.9 million passengers.