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Economic Development has revealed it was taken by surprise at Condor’s decision to only run conventional ferries between the island and the UK this winter, as the committee continues to negotiate a future operating deal between Guernsey, Jersey and the firm
Committee President Deputy Neil Inder told a Scrutiny hearing yesterday that political members discovered the decision when it was published in local media reports, and said he was “not overly” happy with that news.
Deputy Inder said he made representations to the Chief Executive of Condor and is meeting him next week to discuss various matters.
“I expressed concern that with us having, what I thought, a very good working relationship it would’ve been fairly reasonable for him to have spoken to us beforehand,” he said.
“Strangely enough the scheduling for next year is earlier than normal.”
But he acknowledges that the decision to take the high-speed Liberation into drydock and serve the UK using only the Clipper and the new Islander in November and December was understandable.
“I’m fairly sure what some of the arguments will be, and you’ve got to accept it,” he said, noting that a mixed fleet and scheduled maintenance has influenced sailings.
Deputy Inder offered consolation to prospective travelers that they could at least be assured that “conventional ferries will go through the Channel” in challenging conditions.
Committee member Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller added there are factors in play outside of government or commercial control, such as a two-month closure of St Malo harbour from January that will see all French services re-routed to Cherbourg.
Pictured: Economic Development members before the Scrutiny Management Committee yesterday.
Deputy Inder also questioned Condor’s future fleet plans following the acquisition of the Islander – which was secured via an emergency loan from the Civil Contingencies Authority – when asked if the ship would provide economic benefits.
He questioned: “Are you actually adding something to your fleet or is the real plan to sell off one of the boats and head towards conventional ferries?
“We can see they’re investing in their fleet which is clearly good news, but we need to draw out what is this really about?”
He said he would pursue the future of the Liberation and Voyager at his meeting with Condor, additionally considering the Clipper and Goodwill ships approaching end-of-life
An operating agreement with Condor to operate services for the Channel Islands expires in 2025, which works alongside a multi-lateral memorandum of understanding.
Deputy Inder said “in an ideal world” there wouldn’t be overlapping agreements in future, all parties would agree to the terms, and that Guernsey has been negotiating “in good faith”.
Connecting any service agreement to the publicly assisted purchase of the Islander was difficult for Economic Development as that decision was made independently of it and they remain unaware of why the ship was purchased in that way, he added.
But he said there hasn’t been a political meeting with Jersey in months. A senior civil servant with the Committee did say talks are continuing with Jersey counterparts with progress that “puts all three parties in the same position”.
One block they need to overcome is agreements on investment to deliver the services, and he noted that “as a deadline looms it accelerates conversations”, but decisions ultimately rested within the political sphere.
Deputy Inder reminded Scrutiny that investment comes from both sides: “We also need to ensure they are investing in their fleet”.
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