Islanders gather to watch maiden arrival of Seven Sisters

The 143m-long vessel left the French port of Dieppe on Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Jersey yesterday morning for a berthing trial in St Helier.

It remained there for about two and a half hours before setting sail for St Peter Port, arriving into St Peter Port harbour at just after 12.30pm for another berthing trial.

Built in 2006, the ship operates DFDS’s Dieppe-Newhaven route along with its sister ship Cote d’Albatre.

The vessel is able to carry 600 passengers, 224 cars and 50 freight vehicles.

It enjoyed a smooth passage into the harbour, despite some blustery conditions, being assisted by a single pilot boat.

Its berthing trial forms part of ongoing contingency planning, and follows a similar trial carried out last December by another DFDS vessel, the 163m-long Finlandia Seaways.

Marine enthusiasts on both Castle Breakwater and on top of the ferry terminal were impressed by the ship.

William Ellison, a keen amateur photographer of both boats and planes for over 60 years, was pleased to have been able to catch its arrival.

‘I missed the Finlandia for whatever reason, by chance I was reading the Press this morning and saw that this boat was due in, so thought I would come and have a look.

‘It’s a lot bigger than I was expecting, but it looks good.’

Regarding the ongoing tender process for the Channel Islands’ ferry routes, which has seen DFDS, current operator Condor and a third company, believed to be Irish Ferries, bid for the contract, Mr Ellison said he did not mind who won the tender, so long as supermarkets remained stocked and services were reliable.

Town resident Sarah Risely said she enjoyed watching boats come and go from the harbour from her house window every day, so coming down to get a closer look at the Seven Sisters was a ‘no-brainer’.

‘I moved over to the island recently on the Condor Liberation and I feel like I’ve got an emotional attachment to Guernsey’s boats already,’ she said.

‘It’s cool to see this boat but I’m not sure about the yellow colour.’

Chelsey Vaudin, who works in Town and had come to see the ship on her lunch break, was already aware of some of its features, including its bow, which can be raised upwards.

She said that, while it was good that DFDS was promoting itself to the island, she would like to see Condor carry on as Guernsey’s ferry operator.

‘I’ve grown up knowing and travelling with Condor, they’re local and it’d be a shame if they don’t get it.

‘I’m not sure DFDS will be able to meet the promises they’ve made, everything would be new to them.’

A decision on which company has won the Channel Islands’ ferry tender is expected soon.