Striking French Ferry Workers Blockade Calais

Striking French ferry workers blockaded the port of Calais on Tuesday morning, disrupting maritime traffic and Eurotunnel's undersea rail link with Britain in protest at restructuring at its MyFerryLink division, port officials said.

Shipping halted early in the day, the Calais port authority said. Eurotunnel said the industrial action had reduced its shuttle train services which transport passengers and heavy trucks between Calais and Folkestone.

"Traffic is disrupted but there are still trains running," a Eurotunnel spokesman said.

About 400 workers were on strike, the Syndicat Maritime Nord union said.

The union opposes plans by Eurotunnel to sell two of MyFerryLink's three passenger vessels to Denmark's DFDS  and convert the third to freight, cutting jobs.

Reporting by Pierre Savary