CONDOR’S parent company won’t be going back to court – over the government’s decision to award the Island’s ferry services contract to DFDS – according to a senior board member.
Jean-Marc Roué, chairman of Brittany Ferries’ supervisory board, made the comments in a recently published interview with Ouest-France.
Last month, Brittany Ferries’ attempt to force a judicial review of the government’s decision to award the Island’s ferry services contract to DFDS foundered, after the Court of Appeal decided it wouldn’t have “a realistic prospect of success”.
Jersey’s approach to awarding the contract had originally involved a pan-island selection process.
However, this collapsed in October when Guernsey revealed that it had decided to appoint Brittany Ferries – Condor’s majority owner – as its preferred bidder.
DFDS won the subsequent Jersey-only tender and has signed a 20-year contract to provide freight and passenger services between the Island, the UK and France starting from 28 March.
Brittany Ferries attempted to force a judicial review of the decision alleging “procedural unfairness and apparent bias”.
But the Court of Appeal dismissed the case, concluding that there was “no arguable ground for judicial review which has a realistic prospect of success which is not subject to a discretionary bar.”
Mr Roué told Ouest-France that Brittany Ferries was still trying to get a detailed breakdown of the results of the first tender, but wasn’t planning to head back to court.
He also said that what would happen to the vessels currently operating the Jersey route was “under discussion”, but that it was likely some may be sold.
Mr Roué explained his company would work with Manche Iles Express and DFDS on an inter-island service “when things will have calmed down”. This would be split “in an equitable fashion”, he said.
Addressing the company’s finances, which were under scrutiny before and during the tender process, Mr Roué was firm that Condor “did not lose money” in 2023 and 2024.
“The company has always been profitable, but it incurred significant debt during the Covid crisis to meet the terms of its contract,” he said.
“At that time, we requested support from Jersey, which declined. We also sought a deferral of port fees. Poole, Guernsey and St Malo agreed; Jersey refused. When we became the majority shareholders of Condor, we cleared the debt.”
In a statement, a DFDS spokesperson said: “Our focus is on preparing to deliver the best possible service to all customers, both from Jersey and elsewhere, and we continue to work with stakeholders in the Channel Islands, Brittany and the UK to provide connectivity.
“The Jersey-St-Malo timetable has been agreed and the sailings are now on sale to the public.”
