The Commodore Clipper, a freight and passenger ferry, is due to go back into dry dock between Wednesday 4 November and Monday 14 December after planned emissions-upgrade work which was due to be carried out when it was taken out of service last month was postponed.
The ship had been due to have marine scrubbers installed to ensure it complied with EU regulations, but the parts did not arrive in time.
Condor’s other conventional ferry – the freight-only Goodwill – is currently in dry dock for the scheduled work – but it too will have to be taken out of service again when the parts are available. A revised date for the work has not yet been fixed.
Condor has chartered the freight-only MV Arrow to provide cover when the Clipper is out of action, and all passengers are being offered refunds or alternative travel on the Liberation fast ferry, which cannot sail in as rough weather as the conventional ferries.
It is expected that the withdrawal of the Clipper this winter will affect around 1,200 passengers.
Captain Fran Collins, director of operations at Condor, said that the other options for carrying out the essential work were ‘unacceptable’ and that the company had chosen the best available slot for the Clipper to return to dry dock.
She said: ‘We were given options -perhaps further out in Easter or in the summer. Clearly that was unacceptable to us.
‘We have been working with the States of Jersey and Guernsey to look at what choice was the best option.
‘We had the choice of really, really bad, quite bad, or not so horrific and that is the one we had to pick.’
The news comes after Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham called for a review of the service-level agreement between the States and Condor after hundreds of angry passengers protested against the company at Poole Harbour when a booking error led to a number of travellers on the Liberation being stuck in the UK last month.
Earlier this month the firm received some good news when an independent report found that the ship, which has suffered numerous technical problems and questions over its stability since it came into service in March, found that it was safe, stable and well-suited to the English Channel.
Discussing the latest setback, Captain Collins said: ‘We are very disappointed with the effect this is having on customers.
‘We know people’s travel before Christmas is really important, visiting friends and family, and we want to minimise the effect it is having on them as much as possible.’
