DFDS Seaways awarded contract to deliver Jersey-only ferry services
ITV Channel's Katya Fowler gauges the reaction to Jersey's choice of DFDS Seaways to deliver passenger and freight services for the island.
Jersey's government has selected DFDS Seaways to deliver passenger and freight services for the island.
Deputy Kirsten Morel made the decision with support from the Council of Ministers following a Jersey-only ferry tender process.
It ends Condor Ferries' 60 years of service in Jersey.
It also means Jersey and Guernsey will now rely on different ferry companies after Guernsey selected Brittany Ferries as their preferred bidder.
Deputy Morel says: "We have run a robust procurement process that has been independently moderated, and the results show DFDS to be the strongest strategic partner for Jersey.
"A partnership with DFDS will deliver new investment including new highspeed vessels, more sailings in peak periods and a service that is reliable and resilient for Islanders, visitors and businesses."
Jersey's government claims that the decision will mean a greater frequency of ferries to the UK and France in peak periods and faster ferries to the UK.
They claim that three new ferries will be provided within the next six years alongside two dedicated high-speed ferries for the summer.
Subject to the completion of contract negotiations, the 2025 timetable will be published by the end of next week which will allow passengers to begin booking for next year.
DFDS Seaways announced their interest in entering the competition to run the Channel Islands' ferry services in January 2024, focusing on reliability as a top priority.
In April, DFDS said: "It's clearly both urgent and frustrating to the islanders without [reliability] so I think whatever we design, we have to put that first.
"We just need to get that right. Then I'm sure there'll be other things popping up afterwards, where we could use all of the DFDS, like onboard services, our fantastic crew and all of these things. But first of all, we need to get reliability in place."
Doug Bannister, CEO of Ports of Dover, says that while he believes Condor has been "an excellent operator", DFDS Seaways understands the requirements for Jersey:
Condor Ferries currently holds government contracts for both islands, which expire in March 2025.
The original process involved the joint efforts of the Guernsey and Jersey governments to find a ferry provider who could service both islands.
After some delay, the States of Guernsey announced Brittany Ferries as their chosen operator. Jersey then created another ferry tender process for a Jersey-only operator to which DFDS and Brittany both applied.
Jersey's Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, said: "This decision has been made after very careful consideration and will secure the best possible ferry service for Jersey long into the future."
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