Carry on regardless for Guernsey-only ferries

The Government of Jersey again said nothing about its plans yesterday, now six days after Guernsey’s announcement, but as Guernsey looked to press on, business leaders again expressed concerns about the potential implications of two operators on the Channel Islands routes.

The States said yesterday that over the next week it would evaluate a ‘Guernsey-only’ approach from Brittany Ferries and said it would then look to finalise a contract with Condor Ferries' parent company within the next 10 days, so that Brittany could publish 2025 schedules in mid-November.

Economic Development Committee president Neil Inder confirmed there were conversations ongoing with Jersey, but the States continued to wait for confirmation of its intentions.

‘But regardless of the decision that the Government of Jersey reaches we have committed that should we take different approaches,' he said.

'We will work together to put in place a robust inter-island service, building on the recent joint agreement with Manche-Iles Express.'

However, Guernsey Chamber of Commerce executive director Alice Gill said it was concerned that having two different operators would inevitably add both cost and complexity to transport.

‘We are losing the economies of scale we currently benefit from,’ she said.

‘There are many unanswered questions about schedules, freight pricing, and passenger timetables, which will remain uncertain until key negotiations are completed on the service level agreement, KPIs, and minimum service standards.

‘This arrangement of a Guernsey-only service is significantly different from the initial deal that was presented in the tender – and we have questions about the potential impact on service quality and affordability for our community.’

Channel Islands Cooperative Society CEO Mark Cox has warned that if the islands chose different companies, it would add further costs to islanders’ food shopping.

Beyond considering inter-island services, the States said it would be looking to develop community and commercial relationships with Normandy and Brittany.

The tender process, which has run for most of this year, was carried out jointly with the Government of Jersey, with a joint invitation to tender document issued, a joint market testing phase, and a joint scoring and evaluation of bids and submissions, which were also subject to a structured joint moderation.

Guernsey has a population two-thirds the size of Jersey’s and is currently responsible for around 35% of the Channel Islands freight volume, which currently sustains two freight vessels a day.

However, Condor’s timetables have in the past been impacted by tidal restrictions of Jersey’s small and shallow port.

If an inter-island ferry service was reliant on the Manche-Iles Express’s Granville boat, it may be limited to foot passengers only.

Guernsey, Jersey and Sark have already agreed to subsidise the French operator's summer services in 2025.