Politicians 'confident' that a Guernsey-only ferry service 'can meet island's needs'

Deputy Neil Inder said they were "disappointed" with Jersey not joining them in having a single provider, as Guernsey chooses Brittany Ferries as its preferred option. Credit: ITV Channel

Politicians say they are 'confident' that a Guernsey-only service can meet its passenger and freight needs.

It comes after Guernsey named Brittany Ferries as their chosen provider for their sea services.

The statement comes after Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development says they have been "encouraged" by continued discussions with Brittany Ferries in recent days.

However, there are concerns over the efficiency of a Guernsey-only operator, with Jersey accounting for two-thirds of current ferry business.

Originally, politicians from both Jersey and Guernsey were working toward a joint agreement on which ferry service should cater for the Bailiwicks.

But with Guernsey sticking firm with Brittany Ferries, Jersey has been struggling to reach a solid decision, with the most recent development seeing Condor Ferries reject a proposed seven-month extension to their current operating contract.

Deputy Neil Inder is leading Guernsey's tender process and says he's "disappointed" with Jersey not joining them in having a single provider.

The President of the Committee for Economic Development explains: "We have made good progress in our discussions with Brittany Ferries since we announced it as our preferred bidder on 30 October.

"Based on those discussions, we are confident that it can run a Guernsey-only service that meets our needs – subject to further negotiations on some elements.

"Jersey’s decision is a matter for that island. I will respect whatever decision it reaches, while of course being naturally disappointed if it’s not joining us with a single provider.

"The provider we selected, Brittany Ferries, was selected based on the joint tender that we ran with Jersey in accordance with the published procurement documents."

"The Invitation for Tender enabled either island to come to its own decision if a joint agreement could not be reached." - Deputy Inder Credit: Brittany Ferries

An exasperation between both islands appears evident, with Deputy Inder claiming that an "inaccurate narrative" has been presented about the breakdown in the joint tender process.

He explains: "We didn’t break away from the process, we followed it throughout and a preferred bidder needed to be selected.

"We delivered the certainty our island deserves and only did so after giving Jersey two weeks’ notice of our intention following the closure of the scoring by both islands."

There have been concerns about how viable the routes are with Jersey taken out of the equation.

Jersey accounts for two-thirds of the current business - and even with that, this is a sub-optimal route, so things are tight.

Add into that, an ageing fleet and maintenance costs - together with the repayments they are making to the States of Guernsey for their £26 million loan - and they've got some tough numbers to crunch.

So perhaps this is where Jersey's caution has stemmed from, but Guernsey appears to have every confidence.

Just a week ago, they confirmed that the contract would be finalised within 10 days and that schedules would be published in mid-November.

So, while speculation is still rife, there should be a clear way forward by the end of this week.

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