DFDS representatives finalise details for Jersey ferry contract

Chris Parker, DFDS' new route director, will be moving across to Jersey once their new headquarters are established. Credit: ITV Channel

Jersey's chosen ferry provider, DFDS, has confirmed today that it will publish its summer timetables by next Friday, 20 December.

However, islanders will not be able to book ferries until January 2025.

Representatives from the Danish company have been in Jersey this week to meet key stakeholders, such as the Jersey Hospitality Association and the Chamber of Commerce.

They have also met politicians to finalise details of their 15-year contract, which is due to be signed by the end of next week.

DFDS' Jersey route director, Chris Parker, says the trip has been productive.

He told ITV News: "We are working right now on schedules, we're working with the ports, and we're working with key stakeholders to make sure those schedules work.

"We're ensuring that we're getting everything right in terms of crewing for vessels but also for recruitment for staff in Jersey.

"One of the things we want to do is set up a local management team in Jersey with staff who can really help to develop the route."

DFDS have committed to:

  • High-speed services to Poole and Saint Malo

  • Roll-on roll-off services into Portsmouth

  • Greater frequency of ferries to the UK and France during peak periods

  • Faster ferries to the UK

  • Three new ferries in the next six years

  • Two dedicated high-speed ferries in the summer

However, the firm is yet to confirm what its inter-island sailings will look like.

The two Bailiwicks have chosen different ferry providers, and in early December Guernsey signed a 15-year agreement with Brittany Ferries.

Chris Parker says: "We will have that service. But we need to sit down with a lot of people to make sure it works.

"We want to get it right from the get-go. We want to make sure that the schedules we publish are good schedules, and that people like them."

Next week's timetables will detail DFDS' core sailings - the routes to Poole, Portsmouth, and Saint Malo - with schedules detailing inter-island travel to come early next year.

Brittany Ferries' timetables offer a reduced service between Guernsey and Jersey, with only one sailing a week.

DFDS is also finalising what its freight rates will be.

As part of negotiations during the tender process, they committed to flat rates - and they say details on freight will be published alongside the contract next week.

Mr Parker says it's an "exciting time" for the company, adding: "It is a challenge, but I see a lot of potential here."

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