Rising fuel costs spell end for Alderney boat service from Poole
RISING fuel bills have forced a UK boat skipper to scrap his passenger boat service between Alderney and Poole.
Poole-based Steve Porter has run his charter boat True Blue between his home town and the island since 1999. Most of his customers are keen fishermen.
He expanded this to all passengers in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, initially helping to move key workers between Alderney and the UK.
‘It grew and grew and more and more people were asking about bookings,’ he said.
‘It was great for two years. I think people liked how quick and easy the service was.’
He added that passengers were able to bring luggage and pets on board – items that can be difficult to transport on flights.
A one-way trip cost £130 per passenger, and Mr Porter was able to take up to 10 passengers at once, with a journey time of approximately three hours.
This year however, he has had to restrict himself to charter sailings only, due to the rising price of fuel.
Some crossings had run at a loss last year, and Mr Porter could no longer afford to take the financial risk that came with publishing a sailing schedule.
‘In August 2021, the fuel price per litre after duty rebate was only 35p, but nowadays it’s about £1.10.
‘I’ve got no choice now but to pass on the risk to other people,' he said.
He added that outright charters guaranteed him the gross income required to make a trip feasible.
Mr Porter said that, despite the forced alteration to his service timetable, he was still receiving at least one new enquiry every day about his charter service, which costs £2,000.
‘People are able to contact me about chartering the boat out, and then we can promote the trip on Facebook to other people looking to sail if they haven’t got 10 people together already,’ he said.
n More information can be found on the Alderney Travel Info group page on Facebook.
