What a muddle. We enter the summer season, and with the sun shining, the sea looks wonderful, almost inviting.
Who would have thought, this time last year – when admittedly, the weather wasn’t so great – that we could have potentially four ferry operators ready to serve Guernsey and Jersey routes? And that none of them would be the incumbent at that time?
Surely nobody expected, firstly, that we’d have a different main operator for each island. Secondly, that those operators were not capable of putting together a reasonable service to transport cars, freight and people between the major Channel Islands. We have a third operator almost ready to sail, with a challenge to make the day trip market a buoyant one on a daily basis. And now, potentially, a fourth operator thinks they can make a go of offering a freight and vehicle service between the islands. And, what’s more, what appears to be a fledgling operation has the initial backing of the Jersey government.
Meanwhile – because it’s obvious, right? – Guernsey doesn’t want to know. Almost certainly for good reason, just like we have to believe that the islands fell apart over the main ferry operator for good reason.
Just when we thought we largely understood, and were making a decent go at, separate ferry operators, it would be revealing to know why Jersey might think it’s a good idea to have four?
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