The Islander ferry will follow what the company called ‘a more efficient schedule’ from 1 November, with an outline plan to run from Portsmouth to Guernsey, Guernsey to Cherbourg, and Cherbourg to Portsmouth.
The company said that bringing the island into direct contact with the freight hub port would promise new trade partnerships and opportunities.
Services between Poole and Guernsey on the Voyager will also have an option to travel on to St Malo from the winter.
‘Brittany Ferries has a track record in adapting its business to long- and short-term challenges,’ said Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries.
‘We overcame Covid when borders were shut, we continue to wrestle with the consequences of Brexit and we are taking steps to make a holiday in France or Spain as reasonable as possible.
‘But we have to be realistic. We need to adapt and that means a plan to secure a future that will continue to bring opportunities for all those who live and work in the regions we serve. We have informed our ports and will work with everyone affected on this plan for the future.’
The company’s plans were reported in French trade press earlier in the week. It also intends to sell two of its ferries in the next year or so, Cotentin and Barfleur among other cost-cutting measures, including dropping its Le Havre-Portsmouth route.
The company said it had to ‘adapt to a new reality’, with a rising tax burden, repayments of Covid loans and cost-of-living concerns among passengers.
It said that difficult decisions were necessary to ‘manage the future’ and it would be consolidating some services and operating with a more efficient fleet.
‘The world has moved on from Covid for most people and businesses. For Brittany Ferries however, the long tail of the crisis continues. It is proud to have repaid half the loan allocated to save the company during the health crisis already, but half is still outstanding,’ it said.
The company is also facing increased demands from the EU’s Emission Trading System, with a bill of 27m. euros for 2026, and the potential for the UK to raise an equivalent tax.
With Commodore Clipper expected to replace Cotentin on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route, there were fears that Guernsey’s contingency arrangements could be affected, but a spokesman said there would be no impact.
‘Clipper will continue to provide resilience and contingency as the dedicated back-up vessel for Guernsey routes, as she has since the new contract came into effect in April 2025.’
In 2024 the Brittany Ferries Group had revenues of 516m. euros, up 6.5% on 2023, and has enjoyed good passenger growth in the past couple of years, particularly in the English Channel. But it has been facing the demands of EU Emission Trading Scheme taxes, estimated by some analysts to be more than £20m., and the need to repay Covid loans to the French government.
In 2024 it carried nearly 2m. passengers on 13 ships in its fleet.
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