FREIGHT staff are working ‘tirelessly’ to maintain delivery of Jersey’s essential supplies, according to Condor Ferries – after extreme weather conditions resulted in bare shelves across the Island.
The ferry company has said a prolonged period of high winds and rough seas has been responsible for disrupting its conventional sailings over the past two weeks.
And the lack of fresh produce on supermarket shelves has reignited the debate over the stability of the Island’s food supply chain, with shoppers taking to social media to complain about the situation.
Neil Baxter, branch manager at the Waitrose store in St Saviour, said: ‘Poor weather has heavily disrupted the boats delivering to Jersey for over a week – impacting retailers across the Island.
‘We’re working around the clock and will be back to normal as soon as possible, when the weather permits. In the meantime, we’re grateful for our customers’ understanding, and for our Waitrose partners, who are working hard to support them.’
Zed Stott, manager of Alliance’s Sand Street branch, said the store’s current stock levels were ‘not too bad’ – but added the next few days were going to be ‘challenging’.
‘It’s all about the catch-up,’ he said yesterday. ‘We’ve got two boats due this evening, but we are still waiting on frozen food from the weekend and some fresh food from yesterday and the weekend – there is a backlog.
‘We’ve just about managed OK with the fresh food but the longer-dated products will be the weaker sections, because the ships will rightly prioritise the fresh products.’
He added that staff were working ‘very hard’ to try and mitigate the impact of the delays.
A Condor Ferries spokesperson said: ‘We are experiencing a prolonged period of extreme weather conditions that has caused disruption to conventional sailings over the past two weeks.
‘The lack of fresh-food storage facilities on the islands emphasises the critical nature of just-in-time deliveries, which are susceptible to delays and disruption during high winds and rough seas.’
The spokesperson added that Commodore Goodwill, one of the company’s freight vessels, had also returned to service after an extended absence for repairs to its propeller and drive shaft.
‘Our operations and freight teams are working tirelessly to update schedules and relay details to customers based on the latest weather forecasts.
‘Credit is due to all staff, including our crews onboard, for their efforts in maintaining essential supplies to the islands during such difficult conditions.’
