Five-year contract with Herm suits everyone – Trident boss

The new contract, which officially began yesterday, will see Trident once again become the island’s sole ferry service, after the Isle of Herm ferry, run by Herm Island’s management, ceased all operations on Wednesday.

‘We are delighted, this is a result that suits everyone,’ said Trident’s general manager Peter Wilcox.

‘It’s time to look forward.

‘The service is back to what it was, as there will now be porterage, that’s been the biggest bugbear. The net effect is that everyone is conscientiously doing what’s best for the public.’

Travel Trident has had a fractious relationship with Herm’s management over the past three years after the previous contract collapsed during the pandemic and worsened when Herm introduced a ferry service of their own in 2021.

Mr Wilcox said that throughout this period he had been touched by the support his company had received from the public.

‘That has helped us achieve this end,’ he said.

‘Since the news broke we have been inundated with messages and several people have taken the time to come up to me this morning and shake my hand.’

He said the deal, which had taken much of the Bailiwick by surprise, had been agreed after several months of negotiations with John Singer, the chairman of Starboard Settlement who has Herm Island’s lease.

‘I spent a lot of time and on the phone and communicating by email to John Singer. He is a pleasant and honourable man,’ said Mr Wilcox.

‘We need to give Herm the chance to turn things around. They are working hard to make a success of the island and have had some bad press. They don’t get a lot of support from the States. And I really want them to succeed.

'People don’t appreciate the work they have put into the island.’

The new contract includes a return to winter sailings, which Trident ceased in 2021.

‘We are going to promote winter day trips, especially at weekends. Herm can be a lovely place to visit on a pleasant winter’s day, to walk the dog or for lunch.’

It also includes new early-morning sailings, open to the general public, so that children living on Herm can get to school in Guernsey. Mr Wilcox said the details of this were still being ironed out

with Education, but they should continue in September after the school in Herm closes.

The early-morning sailing has already started, with a 7.45am departure starting yesterday and an 8.15am return.

This was in addition to the 9.15am, 10.30am, 12.15pm, 2.15pm, 3.15pm and 5.30pm departures to Herm.

The future of staff that were employed on the Isle of Herm ferry has yet to be completely resolved, but Mr Wilcox said that if they did not find positions on the island they would be first on their list of potential recruits.

And Mr Wilcox said they were willing to learn something from the way the Herm ferry was run.

‘Although we like people to come down to the kiosk, we are looking at introducing online booking from next year.’