The announcement in early June that the Eurotunnel Group had agreed to charter MyFerryLink’s Rodin and Berlioz to DFDS Seaways, including the option to buy, appeared to be a satisfying outcome to the three year saga of MyFerryLink’s (MFL) existence. Effectively a “let to buy” agreement was established where the ships remain French flagged and crewed for a minimum of two years before the sale to DFDS is completed. The original terms of Eurotunnel’s purchase of the three ships included not being able to sell them outright for 5 years. Once the sale was announced, along with a company closure date of 1st July, MFL customers with a booking after this date were offered a free transfer to another cross- Channel operator, a full refund, or an upgrade to Eurotunnel’s Shuttle for an extra £30. The irony of the latter, an upgrade to travel through a hole in the ground, was clearly lost on some! Naturally the Seafrance SCOP, which was subsequently placed in to Judicial Administration on 11th June by the Commercial Court in Boulogne-sur-Mer, deemed the agreement between Eurotunnel and DFDS as unacceptable. The Ro-Ro vessel Nord Pas De Calais would somehow be retained by Eurotunnel for the shipment of hazardous goods, subject to the Competition Authorities, thus safeguarding the jobs of 100-130 personnel if the plan went ahead. The Administrators then had to work with DFDS to define the conditions for the recruitment of staff.