Select a region
DFDS’ commercial demands to run a Channel Islands service included a unilateral right to adjust freight and passenger pricing, the sailing schedule and the minimum service requirements.
The key details emerged in the Guernsey States today when Deputy Gavin St Pier asked an emergency question about why the bid failed to qualify.
It follows confirmation earlier that DFDS was ruled out in both Guernsey and Jersey because of a “mandatory legal fail,” but one which Jersey’s Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel has said he could not understand the reasoning for, and had been labelled before today as a technicality.
This is one of two major splits that have emerged in the different islands' thinking over who to award the contract to. The other relating to financial aspects.
Guernsey has chosen Brittany Ferries/Condor Ferries and now Jersey has started a fresh process where both bidders (Brittany/Condor and DFDS) are due to confirm their propositions today.
Economic Development President, Deputy Neil Inder also moved to set the record straight this morning over what contact there was between the islands after Guernsey had made its choice and and how the process unfolded given claims made in Jersey in the last week.
He urged the Scrutiny Committee to hold a hearing so he could set out full details and a timeline of events.
“Legal evaluators in both islands worked together, as all of the evaluators did in the tender process,” he said in the States.
Pictured: Deputy Neil Inder.
“The legal evaluators failed the DFDs bid in respect of the legal evaluation, because the proposed contractual arrangements put forward for the final evaluation provided a significantly worse contractual position and risk transfer to the Channel Islands governments than we specified within procurement documents.
“These risks included that the bidder significantly excluded and limited its liability prior to the commencement date In respect of risks under the bidders control.
“The bidder also introduced a number of commercial levers, in fact, derogations in the event that its profit requirements were not achieved.
“These levers included introducing a unilateral right for the operator to i), adjust freight and passenger pricing. ii), adjust the sailing schedule, and iii) adjust the minimum service requirements.”
He confirmed that the Condor/Brittany bid required no public subsidy to sustain the contract.
Deputy Peter Roffey described the DFDS requirement for exclusive use of Guernsey’s ro-ro ramps for 15 years on the basis of a level of service which they reserved the right to change at any time if they weren't making enough money, as “a really extraordinary situation.”
Deputy Peter Ferbache described it as the failed bidder being able to “change all material terms on a whim and impose its own conditions.”
DFDS’ derogations also included being able to postpone any investment in the fleet by 12 months and extend the contract term by a further 12 months, the States was told.
“And just so we're clear, the Brittany Ferries bid was contractualised,” said Deputy Inder.
“So all the risk was in the Brittany Ferries contractualised bid, all the risk transfer from the DFDS bid was straight onto the people of what would have been the whole of the Channel Islands.”
Guernsey’s Policy & Resources President Lyndon Trott and external relations lead Jonathan Le Tocq and two key members of Jersey’s Council of Ministers, Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Farnham and external relations lead Deputy Ian Gorst, met twice in the fortnight after Guernsey had made its decision and the announcement being made to discuss the situation.
Guernsey had expected Jersey to make its decision in line with the same timeframe they were operating under, having received an email from the senior responsible officer there.
"I genuinely don't know why Deputy Morel claims that Guernsey went first when we had clear information from Jersey that they were sitting effectively on the same day as us," said Deputy Inder.
ED "confident" in Guernsey-only ferry service
Jersey asks Condor to stay for seven more months
Condor: Did other ferry bidders plan to use our boats?
Jersey's government received "additional legal advice"
Ferry contract: Why Guernsey has picked Brittany Ferries
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.