A Cross-Channel ferry boss has warned that fares will increase "significantly" because of the cost of fuel.

Curt Stavis, chief executive of SpeedFerries - which operates services between Dover and Boulogne - said he could see little hope for a change in the growing global fuel problem.

"I therefore expect the price level of all ferry crossings on the Channel, and everywhere else, to rise significantly and I fear this situation may very well be permanent," he said.

"The environmentally-friendly diesel used by SpeedFerries has been affected the most and we are now looking at a scenario whereby the price is more than twice that of last year – and 2007 was in itself a year of extreme oil prices.

"Although for some time SpeedFerries absorbed this increased cost there is really no alternative but to pass on a proportion of this cost to our customers."

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