THE contract between the government and ferry provider DFDS ought to be released in the interest of transparency amid growing public concern about the service being provided, a senior scrutineer has said.
DFDS has come under fire after a series of complaints about freight charges, passenger delays and its winter timetable which axed the high-speed Poole sailings.
And Deputy Montfort Tadier, who chairs the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel, is now calling for the concession agreement – which sets out the terms of freight and passenger services – to be released.
The Danish ferry firm was awarded the contract to provide a service between Jersey, the UK and France in December 2024 after Jersey opted against renewing terms with former operator Condor. Both islands had initially embarked on a joint tender process to cover both islands, but the move collapsed after Guernsey appointed Brittany Ferries as its preferred bidder. This led to a separate, Jersey-only tender, which resulted in a contract being signed with DFDS on 31 December.
Deputy Tadier, in a letter to Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel, has now requested that the terms of the deal by made public.
In the letter, he said: “Given the significance of this service to the Island and the public interest surrounding its procurement and service delivery, making the contract publicly available would help foster trust and ensure clarity regarding its terms and obligations.
“Furthermore, previous ferry providers published their operating agreements on the Ports of Jersey website.”
A copy of the agreement has been provided to the Panel on a confidential basis but panel chair, it has been confirmed.
The panel has requested a response from the Minister by next Wednesday, and is due to question Deputy Morel publicly at a quarterly Scrutiny hearing on Thursday 25 September.
In a separate statement, Deputy Tadier said: “There is a high level of interest and scrutiny around the service being provided by DFDS at the moment, especially as the company has the monopoly on the route.
“Greater transparency about what has been agreed between Jersey’s Government and DFDS would allow the public to know what they can expect in terms of service levels when it comes to both freight and passenger journeys over the next 20 years.
“The panel of course recognises that there may be commercially sensitive aspects of the agreements, but we feel that, even with minor redactions, there is no reason that is cannot and should not be published.
“Submissions made to the panel have highlighted a number of recurring questions which Islanders are asking.
“The panel notes that many of these points are covered in the agreement, but it is difficult for the public and the panel to hold the minister to account regarding them when such details are not publicly available.”
