New ferry firm gets £150,000 for daily inter-island service

The Committee for Economic Development has joined other private Guernsey backers in supporting the opportunity to get a new service up and running in time for summer.

‘We as a company, and talking to investors who are supporting us, felt that it was really important that we could do something jointly with the States of Guernsey due to the importance of inter-island travel and the socio-economic benefits it would bring,’ said Islands Unlimited operations director Captain Chad Murray.

‘We’ve been working on this for over 12 months now and we’re in the final stages in the procurement of a vessel.

‘It’s been really difficult to find a suitable ship at the moment. That is why that our intended schedule is currently only available from 1 June, however if we can get a ship into the island earlier then we’ll look to bring that forward as soon as we have the confidence to do so.’

After a launch season which never took off last summer, late last year Islands Unlimited announced it would be trying again, but said that would involve seeking backing from the States to bring the plans to fruition.

With Brittany Ferries running just once a week between Guernsey and Jersey, and DFDS’s plans yet to be announced, this passenger ferry aims to bridge the gap between the islands.

‘On behalf of the committee, I am pleased to be able to offer financial support to Islands Unlimited as they continue to develop their business to offer sea passenger services between Guernsey and Jersey,’ Economic Development president Neil Inder said yesterday.

‘Ensuring that there are various options and carriers to facilitate inter-island sea connectivity is increasingly important and Islands Unlimited’s proposal to bring into to service a 200-seat capacity high speed vessel this summer presents the islands with a very exciting and much-needed opportunity.’

The company said that it had carried out extensive market research and stakeholder engagement as it aimed to serve as many different markets as possible.

‘There’s those just wanting to move between the islands and a massive opportunity for the sporting communities, and our schedules have been designed around trying to support sports and event organisations, because they wanted early departures and late returns so they can maximise their time in the islands,’ said Mr Murray.

‘When we spoke to tour operators that serve Jersey and the UK, they wanted to be able to move people between the islands, not just for day trips, but also for the two-centre holiday market, where a week or 10 days can be split between the islands.

‘Our Tuesday sailings are designed the way that it is because that is the day the tour operators thought would be best to move people.

‘If people start to analyse our schedules, they’ll see it’s been designed to cover as many areas of the market as possible.’

The service could also benefit corporate workers and commuters who can go from town centre to town centre without the process of checking in at the airport and taxis into town.

Mr Murray said that the company’s booking system was ready to go live, but it was now waiting on its procurement process and would not want to start selling tickets without full confidence.

‘Then it’ll be a case of finalising logistics, the check-in process and making sure we have a presence in both terminal buildings,’ said Mr Murray.

‘Everything is contingent on us going live and then it’s all hands to the pumps to make sure everything is in place.’