Most recently, another berthing trial was conducted in Jersey as the operator's CEO looks to usher in a "new era" for Condor that could see larger vessels used for scheduled services as early as this winter. 

The 151-metre-long vessel, Bretagne, arrived in Elizabeth Harbour, just days after Mr Mathieu said the companies were now "seriously studying options for next winter". 

It is not the first Brittany Ferries vessel to have conducted a berthing trial in the island, with 157-metre-long Barfleur having done so in March. 

It also carried out berthing trials in St Peter Port, but it's not yet known if the Bretagne will do the same here.    

Brittany Ferries is a shareholder in Condor, which is currently vying with Danish shipping firm DFDS to run the Channel Islands’ passenger and freight services. 

Condor has a contract with Jersey and a Memorandum of Understanding with Guernsey, both of which are set to expire in 2025. DFDS may win the current tender and replace them as the island’s main passenger and freight operator, but if not, the islands will see more of Brittany Ferries. 

So, who are they? 

“It’s important that people know who they are dealing with” 

I met Christophe in the OGH to get an update on the ongoing tender deal, the recent change in scheduling, and to learn more about the man and Brittany Ferries itself. 

The first thing I understood from our meeting was that Christophe is confident. He’s confident in not only winning the tender, but that Brittany Ferries, and by extension Condor, is the obvious choice for the Channel Islands. 

“The content of the [tender] is quite big ask... But we are here to win it, because we know the trade and we know our job. We know how to organize a ferry operation. We've done that for years with Brittany Ferries.

“We operate in extremely difficult seas... we operate between the UK, Ireland and Spain, those [routes] are a bit more demanding than the Channel.” 

He compared the tender process to a sports game, and that if the referee is fair, then “I’m extremely confident that we’re going to win it”. 

“You don't play to lose. Brittany Ferries... we've got this passion about what we do, and for me, failure is not an option.” 

Pictured: CEO of Brittany Ferries, Christophe Mathieu.

Brittany Ferries was founded in 1973 by a group of Breton farmers who wanted to export cauliflowers and artichokes to the UK. They established a service and it grew into a passenger and freight operation that now serves the UK, France, Spain and Ireland. The top brass of the firm still includes farmers, and Christophe says their focus has always been on developing communities. 

"They wanted the ferry service to be part of growing the local economy. They went to the local governments, Brittany and Normandy and said, ‘look, we're going to struggle to finance the replacement of [a vessel], why don't we create this private public joint venture that acquires the vessel?’ And that's why the operating company is owned by the farmers.” 

Sound familiar? In recent years a lot was made of the States of Guernsey helping fund Condor’s Islander ferry when the firm was in a pinch. While the reasons for this remain unclear, it feeds into this ethos of developing a ferry company for the people. Christophe points to the P&O staff debacle – where hundreds of people were fired over video call -and Brittany Ferries response, as a point of a pride. 

“The farmers in the business... they've never looked at [the company] as a way to enrich themselves directly... but to enrich the region they live in.  

“Two years ago, P&O sacked 800 staff members... That is despicable. We saw that as a massive threat... Because you’re competing with a crew - [of agency staff] - that costs two and a half times less than a French or British crew. 

"Brittany Ferries reacted by saying to the French government... 'If you don't do anything, we're going to have a massive problem'.  

“We don't want to ever... bring people that cost three times less, fly them from the other side of the world, make them work 15 weeks or pay the minimum wage. We cannot and we don't want to do that.  

“Both France and the UK have now voted in laws that says that if you operate ferry business between the UK and France, you need to pay either the UK or the French minimum wage. 

“Hopefully, that might also be a bit of an example... Because you can’t compete on the basic principle of having cheaper crew or cheaper staff. That's fundamentally wrong. It's something that we fought against." 

Competition

The tender process is fully underway and, despite Christophe’s confidence, the outcome is not predetermined.  

Condor will be hoping to beat Danish shipping company DFDS, which recently held open meetings in Jersey and Guernsey to gather feedback from a number of local businesses and other stakeholders. 

As part of its pitch, the Danish operator has teased a hybrid-electric ferry for the Channel Islands. 

Commenting on whether DFDS and Condor could compete alongside each other on the same routes, Mr Mathieu said: "It's tricky because the market is such that, at the end of the day, you need volumes to break even in this business – so I don't think it would last long. 

"Sure, there could be a moment but one of the two would give up, or the States would have to organise it in a different way and subsidise. 

"But I don't think there is enough [volume] for that to be a lasting proposition."

Pictured: DFDS is also competing for the tender.

During my meeting with Christophe he acknowledged that Condor has gone through difficulties, but stressed that the service has never stopped. 

This is despite concerns being raised about Condor extending a loan agreement with NatWest for a second time. 

“We are hopefully providing a better service with our new schedule for the summer. I love my company. I love what I represent. And it's not only my life, but quite a few people in Brittany Ferries and we wouldn't commit to a service and do what we're doing and exposing ourselves if we thought that... something wrong was to happen financially. 

"We've had a very constructive relationship with the lenders of Condor. I'm confident because I know that there is a full sense of responsibility from all the financial stakeholders around the globe.” 

It’s yet to be seen whether this confidence will carry Brittany Ferries and Condor through to a long-term contract with the islands, or if the future includes Condor at all. 

When asked if Brittany Ferries might simply absorb Condor, or whether the firms might undertake a rebranding exercise, Christophe didn’t give much away but did say “it’s a good question”.

"I can't say today that the Condor brand will disappear, but it's very likely that there will be some kind of branding that references Brittany Ferries being part of the operation."

READ MORE... 

Brittany Ferries to become 'more involved' with CI ferry links 

Bienvenue! Brittany Ferries conducts another berthing trial 

FOCUS: A "new era" beckoning for Condor?