Inter-island weekend ferry proposal refused

A proposed weekend ferry service running between Jersey and Guernsey has been rejected by Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development.

Ferry operator DFDS planned to use the Stena Vinga to sail from Jersey to Guernsey on a Friday evening with an onward sailing to Portsmouth, with the reverse journey on a Monday arriving in Jersey in the afternoon.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, committee president, said the proposal was given "very careful and detailed consideration" and "having assessed the wider operational and service impacts, we are not able to approve the DFDS proposal in its current form".

The Jersey Sports Council said it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision.

It said it "urged all parties to negotiate in good faith to find a solution" after Kazantseva-Miller said "the door is not closed" to further discussions.

The committee said the proposed schedule presented "material operational and resourcing challenges" to Guernsey Ports and Customs and Immigration.

It said with the majority of the proposed arrivals on Friday evening they would fall outside standard operating hours and would have a knock-on effect on cost and operations for Saturday freight and passenger sailings.

The committee had concerns DFDS would not have the capability to run the route with the Stena Vinga "given the public reports that it would require maintenance".

It also said it must have "regard to the political context underpinning inter-island connectivity including the commitment given in 2025 by the States of Jersey minister for sustainable economic development to pursue a reciprocal model of service provision".

The committee said this was "based on one return sailing per week directly between the islands as offered by Brittany Ferries using a high-speed craft".

Kazantseva-Miller said: "We remain very open to further discussions on potential solutions that are operationally viable, legally robust and capable of delivering a genuinely reciprocal service, comparable to the highspeed return model currently offered by Brittany Ferries."

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