Channel protest leaves tourists stranded

LONDON (Reuters) -- British ferry operator P&O Stena Line said on Wednesday it was taking legal action against protesting French fishermen who blockaded key English Channel links, leaving thousands of travelers stranded.

"We are going to court in Bologne this afternoon to seek an injunction to get the blockade lifted," a spokeswoman for the joint venture between P&O and Stena Line said.

"About 30,000 people and 400 trucks would have been expected to travel today," she said, adding that injunctions normally take about 24 hours to go into effect.

The move came as British tourists faced lengthy delays after French fishermen protesting over high fuel prices blocked the Channel ports of Calais, Saint Malo and Cherbourg.

Day trippers were urged to postpone travel plans after protests in Calais halted services to Dover, the busiest ferry route between Britain and France.

P&0 Stena Line -- which annually transports about 12 million passengers between Dover and Calais -- said it had redirected its ferries to Zeebrugge in Belgium.

A spokesman for the Port of Dover said passengers had been diverted to other operators, including Hoverspeed which docks its hovercrafts outside the affected area, and channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel.

Ferry operators P&O Stena Line and SeaFrance advised ticket holders to call before traveling.

French union officials have said the blockades will continue until Thursday, when they plan a protest in Paris to push for the untaxed fuel price for fishermen to be cut to 1.20 French francs (16 cents) per liter from 2.10 francs now.

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