A commercial court in Paris will today decide on the fate of embattled cross-Channel ferry operator SeaFrance.

SeaFrance, 100%-owned by French state operator SNCF, went into administration in June (having been placed under court protection at the end of April 2010) in order to offset the risk of insolvency .

At the end of last month, SNCF obtained approval from the European Commission to allocate emergency funding to SeaFrance during its period in administration.