DANISH ferry company DFDS have returned to Jersey this week to discuss a Jersey-only service which they are “fully prepared” to take over, the company has said.
This comes after the joint tender process between Jersey and Guernsey – which was to decide the future operator of the Channel Islands’ ferry services – came to a head at the start of November, when Guernsey announced its preference for Brittany Ferries.
DFDS had been “legally failed” in Jersey and Guernsey and disqualified from the process, Guernsey’s Deputy Neil Inder said last week. Meanwhile, Jersey’s Kirsten Morel described Condor as a “distressed” company.
Citing DFDS’s fleet of over 70 ferries, Mathieu Girardin, DFDS’s executive vice-president and head of ferry division, said the company had “the right scale and investment capacity to provide Jersey with appropriate fleet for its ferry services in the coming 15 years”.
Filip Hermann, VP BU Channel and Baltics, added: “We understand the importance of a safe, reliable and efficient ferry service for islanders and businesses in Jersey, and we are confident in our ability to deliver this service.
“As outlined in our initial proposal, for which we are yet to receive clarifications regarding the reasons for our disqualification, we will utilise vessels from our fleet and leverage our extensive experience from other routes in our network.
“We are fully prepared and capable of taking over the ferry service if we are awarded the tender, and we are looking forward to working with all stakeholders.”
Managers from DFDS are in Jersey this week to discuss the new tender, the company said.
