P&O BUYS OUT STENA, CUTS INTRA-EUROPE RO/RO SERVICES

P&O BUYS OUT STENA, CUTS INTRA-EUROPE RO/RO SERVICES    U.K.-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. has announced an agreement to acquire the 40-percent share of Stena Line, the Swedish shipping line, in the P&O Stena short sea joint venture.
   P&O will pay Stena about '150 million ($215 million) for its share in P&O Stena, one of the major operators of intra-European roll-on/roll-off ferry services based mainly on the Dover cross-Channel route.
   The agreement “will lead to a consolidation of P&O’s short sea ferry interests and a possible rationalization of ferry services on the North Sea,” P&O said.
   P&O Stena Line also announced plans to terminate its Dover/Zeebrugge route towards the end of this year, and said that it is considering the possible closure of the Felixstowe/Zeebrugge and Felixstowe/Rotterdam routes.
   “The decision to consult about the possible closure of the Felixstowe routes, and the Dover/Zeebrugge route, results from their inability to achieve an adequate return,” P&O said.