- A Guernsey resident has complained about the open deck on Condor Liberation
- Jean Dean says that her car was covered in saltwater during a recent crossing
- Condor say that spray will hit vehicles in ‘certain conditions’
- Would you mind if you had to park on the open deck? Take our poll below
A CONDOR passenger has urged the ferry firm to stop allowing cars to be parked on the open deck – after her vehicle was sprayed with sea water for three hours during a recent crossing.
Jean Dean – a 56-year-old Guernsey resident – is one of a number of Channel Islanders who have raised concerns at being made to park on the upper car deck at the bow of the new Liberation fast ferry.
She recently travelled to Poole and was given assurances from a crew member that her car would stay dry when she was asked to park it in the open bow.
‘I also voiced my concern to a stewardess directing passengers to their seating areas but she just laughed and said it would only get wet if it rained.
‘When I went to the lounge, I watched as the cars were plastered in salt water for three hours.
‘It does make me angry and everybody there was unhappy about it because when we drove off the boat we couldn’t see out the windows because they were covered in salt water.
‘I had to find a garage to wash my car so I could safely drive, never mind the longer-term damage three hours of salt water did to my car.
‘When you pay to have your vehicle transported, it should be treated with care and respect.’
Mrs Dean also said that when she asked a stewardess why the cars had not been put on the covered upper deck that was ‘nearly empty’, the response was that the operator needed the extra ballast on the bow.
‘I’m not worried about compensation or anything like that I just think this needs to stop.
Condor has defended its position, saying that when loading car ferries, it was important for both safety and passenger comfort that vehicles were placed in a way that created even weight distribution across the deck.
Captain Fran Collins, executive director of operations at Condor, said a small part of the forward area of Condor Liberation’s vehicle deck was open – something which was a common feature of modern high-speed ferries.
She has now reminded her team of communicating information accurately to customers.
‘Although such short-term exposure to sea water is unlikely to harm the vehicle, and can be dealt with by rinsing as would be done to deal with road salt, we will continue monitor the situation carefully to minimise inconvenience to our customers,’ added Captain Collins.
The Liberation has been plagued by problems and complaints since it came into service last month. It suffered damage after hitting a fender in Guernsey Harbour during its second commercial crossing and went on to suffer technical problems.
