Alderney Ferry Services puts two vessels up for sale
Two of Alderney Ferry Services’ three vessels are up for sale – but just to see which one sells first.
Charlie Smith, a director of the family-run operation, confirmed on Riduna Radio that both Causeway Explorer and Dart Fisher were up for sale, despite the latter only being purchased this summer.
The company also has Sorcerer II, which was added to its fleet in 2023.
‘We’ve put both up in the hope that one will go so we can keep the other,’ said Ms Smith.
‘We will always have one vessel to operate the whole schedule, and going forward we do plan to have two, we’ve just put them both on the market to see which one goes first.’
She has been in Cherbourg with Dart Fisher and its crew, hoping to return to Alderney today.
During a phone interview with Robert ‘Dougal’ Bohan on Riduna Radio, Ms Smith reassured Alderney residents that the service would still be running.
‘We’re definitely still sailing, it’s weather-dependent,’ she said.
‘We’ll be running twice a day, dependent on passenger numbers, and we’ll keep going as long as we can.
'Over the winter we’re doing Monday to Saturday, and taking Sunday off so the crew can have a day off.
'From the end of March, we’ll carry on doing twice a day as normal.’
The service continues to support Aurigny and the airports, recently taking charters when there was fog.
The reliability of the sea service is one of the main reasons Dart Fisher was purchased.
‘The service is weather-dependent which is why we bought Dart Fisher so we could keep running in more severe weathers that our other vessels can’t run in.
‘There’s a lot of factors that go into that sort of decision the skippers have to make, but we do not want to cancel where we don’t have to, we’re providing more resilience and getting more people to the island.’
Alderney Ferry Services announced a Cherbourg service last week, running from April to the end of October every Monday and Friday.
The ferry will leave Alderney at 10.30am and leaving Cherbourg at 1.30pm.
‘The Cherbourg route is one the island’s not had for years, and we had a very successful season with people in Cherbourg stopping us and saying they want to come to Alderney,' Ms Smith said.
'It’s good for hospitality and keeps our island moving.'
Alderney Ferry Services’ subsidy from the States of Alderney ended on the last day of September, and it is currently running on its own.
