A DANISH shipping firm vying to be the next Channel Islands ferry operator will be carrying out berthing trials with one of its vessels today.
DFDS’s Seven Sisters is a 143-metre ship which currently runs the Dieppe to Newhaven Channel crossing and can carry up to 600 passengers and 224 cars.
The government confirmed that the boat was due into Jersey this morning to test the “operational parameters” of the Harbour as part of trials commissioned into “contingency plans for a number of possible risks”, including supply-chain resilience.
DFDS is competing with current operator Condor to win the new contract to operate Channel Island passenger and freight routes. Irish Ferries is also understood to be bidding for the contract, which is due to end in 2025.
Brittany Ferries recently became a majority stakeholder in Condor.
DFDS trialled the 163-metre-long cargo ship Finlandia Seaways, the largest vessel ever to berth in Jersey, in December last year.
And Brittany Ferries carried out berthing trials with the 151-metre Bretagne in May.
Seven Sisters is also due to carry out trials in Guernsey.
No disruption to ferry schedules is expected in the Island due to today’s trial, the government said.
