‘Disastrous’: Politicians and islanders react to ferry decisions

“Disastrous”, “out of control”, and “seriously damaging”: Jersey residents have been left reeling after a series of announcements and decisions on which provider will take over the island’s passenger and freight services.
It comes as Condor’s main shareholder Brittany Ferries rejected Jersey’s offer of a seven-month contract extension.
But Jersey is now asking Danish firm DFDS Seaways if they would like a short-term contract instead.
It’s prompted confusion from politicians and islanders about the next steps for the Islands.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf says: “I think what’s concerning is that we seem to be twisting and turning in lots of different directions and nothing seems to be working.
“I appreciate it’s a difficult decision the government finds themselves in but we’ve tried a joint approach with Guernsey then we tried to go it alone, then we tried a seven-month extension that’s been rejected, and now we’re trying again with something else. It seems like there’s a real lack of clarity and decision-making in the process.
“So far, the process appears to have been a little short of disastrous in terms of lending any credibility to Jersey’s government.”
“It just doesn’t look like that the government is completely in charge of the situation at all. And certainly, the revelation today that Condor doesn’t want anything to do with the seven-month offer was not a great sign.”
Deputy Max Andrews echoed these concerns, adding: “I came into politics to take decisions and it seems we are encountering indecision and I think the public – quite rightly – are in dismay because we should be in a position where we have confirmed who the companies who will be providing the services to Jersey are.”
Deputy Inna Gardiner says: “I have much more questions than I have answers. I don’t think that we are better off now than we were in January 2024 when the process started.
When ITV Channel told Deputy Gardiner that Deputy Morel would approach DFDS for a short-term solution, she replied: “So even you receive information now that we haven’t heard in the States Assembly? The situation feels completely out of control. We need to understand what’s going on.”
Business and hospitality leaders, as well as everyday ferry users, have found uncertainty in what the ferry service will look like come Easter next year.
Jersey Hospitality Assocation’s Marcus Calvani says: “For our 2025 group bookings, this is seriously damaging, and we hope that when the decision is made, the operating company that comes in has some serious cash behind them to be able to market this destination […] and grow back some of the demand that we’ve lost.
Jersey Post has also been left in the dark, as the removal of their mail plane last year means they rely on sea freight to continue their services.
CEO Mark Siviter explains: “I’d like to see who I am working with over the desk, but we serve Guernsey and we serve Jersey and I’m happy to deal with either operator.
“We might end up dealing with two operators and that’s fine. We’ll work it out.”
Car dealer Miles Jude is also worried about how much it will cost to bring new motors to the island next year, adding: “What worries me is the amount of time now that this has taken.
“It’s almost Christmas, and we still don’t know […] the whole thing for me is just frustrating.”
Whoever services the islands, two-thirds of all traffic comes through Jersey, meaning higher prices in Guernsey are a real concern.
Fran Torode, who is a Guernsey ferry user, says: “It leaves us in a nasty situation being one island with one operator who will not be able to give us the scale of service we’ve had in the past.
“I cannot see how that can work without the prices being astronomical and the service level going way down.”
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