Could Jersey and Guernsey now have two separate ferry service providers?

Guernsey announced that Brittany Ferries would be their chosen provider but Jersey are yet to make a decision. Credit: ITV Channel

Industry leaders have weighed in on whether separate ferry service providers to Jersey and Guernsey could work and what it would mean for customers.

It comes after Guernsey named Brittany Ferries as their chosen provider for passenger and freight sea services for the island, while Jersey is yet to make a decision.

Deputy Kirsten Morel, the Minister for Sustainable Economic Diversity in Jersey, said: "I think it's really important that Jersey makes the right decision, I wanted it to be for the Channel Islands and in many ways I still think it is about the Channel Islands, but we need to make the right decision for Jersey.

Deputy Kirsten Morel says he's determined to make the right decision for Jersey's tax payers. Credit: ITV Channel

"We need to make sure that Jersey tax payers aren't placed at risk in any way because the sustainability of the bidders isn't there for the 15 year period. We need more information from these bidders.

"I don't think both parties necessarily felt like they needed more information. We definitely did. Jersey only gets one chance in every 15 years to do this contract, if we get it wrong, that's 15 years of difficulty potentially and I want to avoid that."

When asked if both islands could operate a separate service, Steve Bailey, an ex Senior Manager for Condor Ferries said: "Absolutely not, categorically not. It would be to the detriment of our services totally.

Steven Bailey, a former senior manager at Condor claims two separate providers wouldn't work for the island. Credit: ITV Channel

"We would not see the the ferry service we have come to accept. This island could not support its own Ferry service, neither could Guernsey."

In yesterday's announcement that Guernsey had chosen Brittany Ferries, Deputy Neil Inder, President of the Committee for Economic Development said: "If we do move to a Guernsey-only service from Brittany Ferries, the new arrangement would mean that the way that some services operate will be changed, but we will have the same freight and passenger capacity for our community, improved resilience in the fleet, and the benefit of Brittany Ferries’ expertise, willingness to innovate, and commitment to improved customer services."

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