HD: The last straw

Sadly, HD’s performance has not lived up to that initial promise. Islanders can certainly thank the company for introducing competition on the route, for pitching its fares at a favourable level and for a range of value-for-money special deals.

Unfortunately, the mechanical reliability of HD’s vessel has failed to match the quality of its marketing.

Last week’s announcements that the ferry will not run during the winter, that jobs will be lost, and that many customers who have already booked passage will be unable to travel were the final straw. Unsurprisingly, Economic Development have decided that the company’s ferry ramp permit must be taken away.

That decision can be regarded as a technical one in the sense that the agreement on which the permit hin-ges demands at least three sailings a week during the winter season. However, as Assistant Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean has pointed out, if HD reapply for a permit next year past performance will be a key issue.

This is exactly as it should be.

It is by no means impossible that another company could express an interest in using the ramp facility. To have this blocked by an organisation that has experienced so much difficulty in delivering a reliable service would clearly be nonsensical.

Meanwhile, all the attention that is currently being focused on HD should not obscure the fact that another firm, Condor, provides not only a link with France but a service to Guernsey and the UK. Thanks largely to the seakeeping qualities of its vessels, Condor can handle all but the worst of the weather thrown at us by the winter. But, in the present circumstances, economics are just as important as meteorology for any business involved in transportation. Fuel prices are an enormous overhead which, coupled with the winter’s lower level of demand can only be a constant headache in the ferry sector.

With this in mind, Islanders will be earnestly hoping that there is no further deterioration in the circumstances which make our vital sea links with the continent and the UK viable.