Travel control statements and decisions should be left to our experts
THE headlines on the Guernsey Press were a reassuring statement of let’s move forward with caution. The statement made the very same day by Condor sent out a message which could have been no more to the contrary. I, amongst many, am extremely disappointed/concerned by the announcement made by them in respect of proposed travel requirements, or indeed the severe non-existence of, on their potential forthcoming fast ferry services.
We have all witnessed the incredibly hard work and sacrifices that front line workers, islanders and businesses have contributed to help control this pandemic locally – from all sectors, doctors, nurses, politicians, retail workers, cleaners etc, the list is endless and something to be proud of as a community.
We are now told that Condor proposes to have no pre-requisite controls in place for inbound passengers on fast ferries. What?
Who on earth do they think they are making such bold statements when any decisions in that respect are to be made by those experts who have successfully guided us gently out of this dreadful scenario and continue to do so?
To those ‘decision makers’ at Condor, if you wish to fill your fast ferries with passengers then can you please justify why there will be no control requirements/procedures prior to travelling into Guernsey?
There is no doubt that everybody worldwide wishes to return to normal, albeit almost undoubtedly a new normal, but what haven’t you grasped?
You may be decision makers within your organisation but far from decision makers on behalf of Guernsey PLC, its community and vulnerable – with all due respect please leave travel control requirement statements and decisions to our expert panels, politicians, authorities and public health advisors.
On face value this could be construed as a commercial decision with a marketing bias and with little or even no mitigation for our community. After all each and every business and member of the community has a moral obligation to protect one another .... remember #guernseytogether ?
ANDREW LE PREVOST
aleprevost62@gmail.com
Editor’s footnote: Ian Le Moigne, media relations manager for Condor Ferries, responds:
Thank you for the points raised by your correspondent. We wholeheartedly agree with their comment that front line workers, Islanders and businesses have all worked incredibly hard during the pandemic and would like to take the opportunity to thank them all. We would like to reassure your readers that Condor has also devoted considerable time and effort over the past 12 months to limit the impact of Covid-19.
Since March 2020, we have steadfastly maintained the lifeline freight service to Guernsey and Jersey, recognising we are a critical component of the essential supply chain. It was Condor that introduced the sterile working environment in March 2020 on its two freight ships, ensuring the 24/7/365 service continues to this day, unaffected.
We have also provided passenger connectivity between the islands, the UK and France over the period, running services six days per week to Portsmouth and fortnightly to St Malo. We also put on repatriation sailings to transport islanders and visitors when other jurisdictions introduced lockdowns at short notice, despite the damaging financial situation that our business has had to cope with.
Of paramount importance throughout the pandemic remains the safety of our passengers, freight clients, crew and staff. We developed a host of safety protocols last year including reduced passenger capacity to maintain social distancing, self service food offering, mandatory face coverings and regular testing for crew and port staff.
These measures were positively received by travellers and last summer, we were the first international ferry operator to be recognised for the steps taken to safeguard passengers, employees and crew against Covid by DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society.
In response to the main thrust of the letter, it was Condor’s decision to require proof of negative Covid-19 tests for travel on Commodore Clipper and Commodore Goodwill (our freight-only ship) and this policy continues today. We alone have taken these decisions in order to protect our crews and therefore safeguard the regular food and medical supply chain into the islands and there has been no compromise on safety.
None of these measures we have taken is required by the governments in the four jurisdictions to which we operate and the CCA confirmed on 10 March that the Bailiwick’s testing regime and quarantine controls for arriving passengers are in addition to Condor’s measures, not instead of them.
Whilst your correspondent is critical of Condor for not insisting on negative results for high speed services, we have received complaints from others for our decision to introduce the additional testing requirement in the first place. It is also worth pointing out that we do not believe airlines serving the islands have introduced any similar additional test procedures over the past 12 months at all.
We hope that this provides some reassurances that Condor continues, in these very challenging, constantly changing conditions to work in the best interests of the islands, before, during and after the pandemic.