Island stayed in control of ferry services with solo deal

Details of the extraordinary demands which were being made of the islands by rival bidder DFDS were revealed when Jersey published its contract with the Danish operator this week.

Jersey has handed DFDS the right to make virtually any changes it wants to sailing schedules, minimum service requirements and fares on passengers, vehicles and freight, if the company’s profits fall short of expectations in any three-month period throughout the 20-year deal.

It also allows investment in vessels to be postponed for up to five years, despite politicians in Jersey saying that an agreed vessel investment plan was one of the main advantages of contracting with DFDS.

Former Economic Development president Neil Inder, who led negotiations on Guernsey’s 15-year deal with Brittany Ferries, which was signed late last year, said yesterday that the conditions in Jersey’s contract underlined why the DFDS bid was rejected.

‘We render onto Jersey what is Jersey’s,’ said Deputy Inder.

‘The previous Economic Development Committee acted on behalf of the people of Guernsey – we made the right decision for Guernsey.

‘Jersey added unnecessary risk into their contract. That is now a matter for them. We will carry on welcoming French visitors in their droves next year and I’m encouraged to see that the new Economic Development Committee is carrying on building that relationship with France.’

The States has said that its deal with Brittany Ferries provided a full financial and operational guarantee over the services in the contract.

Deputy Inder’s successor, Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, who was also a member of the previous committee, said the contract with Brittany Ferries had been ‘carefully structured to reflect Guernsey’s unique needs’ and could not be directly compared with ferry deals in other places.

She said the island’s partnership with the French firm had been ‘the right decision’ and its first year had been marked by high service standards and increased passenger numbers.

Deputy Inder said that decision had left Guernsey in a ‘wonderful position’ in terms of transport links and the wider economy.

‘Only this week we have seen representatives of the French regions in Guernsey with Deputy Kazantseva-Miller acting as ambassador and Deputy Lee Van Katwyk working hard promoting the island to our new French partners,’ he said.

‘There cannot be a greater compliment to Guernsey when one French delegate likened Guernsey to an extension of St Malo. I said in the last term that Guernsey was “loved of St Malo”. That passion for the island, its people and its deal with Brittany Ferries will continue to pay Guernsey for years to come.’