The 50-year concessions for Calais and Boulogne is up for renewal by the regional government of Nord-Pas de Calais and, as previously reported in WorldCargo News, in January Groupe Eurotunnel SA (GETSA) said it was considering bidding against the incumbent manager/operator, CCI de la Côte d'Opale.

The deadline for bids is the end of this month, but GETSA revealed at the weekend that it would not be bidding, leaving the field open to the CCI, which is understood to be the only bidder.

The controversy that a GETSA bid for the French Channel ports would have aroused does not need elaboration here; the issue was covered in the February 2013 edition of WorldCargo News (page 1).

GETSA may have decided that the move would have been a step too far. By declining to bid, it may be hoping to obtain leverage regarding its ferry company, MyFerryLink, where a new political row is in the offing.

The takeover of the former SeaFrance ferries and staff (employed indirectly through a workers' cooperative) was cleared by the French competition authority in November, just a few days after, in the UK, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the deal to the Competition Commission.

The Competition Commission has issued its "preliminary findings" upholding the OFT's reservations and provisionally coming out against GETSA's ownership of MyFerryLink. GETSA has disputed the Competition Commission's conclusions and is contesting them. However, unless the Competition Commision's definitive ruling, expected in April, is any different, there will be an impasse.

For MyFerryLink to continue under its existing ownership structure, both the British and French competition authorities need to approve it. GETSA might then refer the issue to the EU competition directorate in Brussels for a ruling, as a higher authority. This row looks set to rumble on for some time.