Guernsey Press

Ending of ferry link with Weymouth not down to Liberation

HAVING read your article, Final link with Weymouth gone as ferry terminal is demolished, in last Friday’s newspaper, we would like to provide some clarification on points raised which may be of interest to your readers.

Published

Condor ran two fast ferries from Weymouth for many years and it remained a very important part of our route network due to its location, access to the West Country and shorter sailing times to the islands.

The primary reason we suspended sailings was not due to our introduction of a larger passenger ship (Condor Liberation), rather it was caused by structural problems at the harbour which saw parts of the berth collapse into the sea. The port in Weymouth had previously suffered from massive under-investment over a long period, which is not dissimilar to many similar small harbours, and this catastrophic failure in 2012 required emergency remedial work to be undertaken.

When Condor subsequently decided to modernise and upgrade its fleet, we approached Weymouth to discuss the modifications that would be required to the harbour and offered to jointly share half of the reinvestment costs. Weymouth and Dorset Council were sadly unable to secure funding to modernise the port to allow us to continue there.

Weymouth had always been part of our long-term plans and we were committed to continuing to use the port, regardless of the type of ship in our fleet.

I trust this provides some clarification.

IAN LE MOIGNE

Media relations manager, Condor.