DFDS plans to run extra sailings to Guernsey from this spring to allow vehicles to travel out on a Friday and back on a Monday, potentially improving the prospects for more inter-island sport.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel revealed the plan on Thursday to a Scrutiny panel, which is looking into the 20-year concession agreement that Jersey signed with the Danish ferry firm last year.
A criticism of the new operation was that it was far harder for Islanders competing in motorsports, equestrian events and other sports needing vehicles to make the trip to Guernsey, particularly over weekends.
If approved by Guernsey, the two extra stopovers in St Peter Port would be evening sailings for both directions. Brittany Ferries also currently sails between the islands on a Wednesday, and the foot-passenger-only Islands Unlimited ferry is due to resume in March.
Facing questions from Economic and International Affairs panel, Deputy Morel identified inter-island sailings as the one area he deemed inadequate in the agreement, which have been criticised by some as a retrograde step compared to when Condor / Brittany Ferries served the route.
However, Deputy Morel argued that the proposal for the extra sailings – provided by the Stena Vinga – showed that DFDS were responsive. He added that although the sailings would be triangular – with the ferry either starting or finishing in Portsmouth – passengers would not, for instance be able to travel from Guernsey to the UK via Jersey.
However, he expressed a hope that some form of ‘codeshare’ with Brittany Ferries might be possible in future.
At the panel hearing, Deputy Morel and his chief officer Richard Corrigan launched a staunch defence of DFDS, saying that the government now had a close working relationship with the operator and clear expectations set out in the agreement.
Deputy Morel conceded that the new era, which began last March, had got off to a difficult start due to the delay to the selection process but he said that DFDS “were now very much up and running”.
Evidence of this, he added, was that the number of passengers travelling to and from St Malo was likely to be 40% up, and UK sailings up by 20%, compared to the same month last year, when Condor ran both routes.
“DFDS has already taken more group bookings for 2026 than the whole of 2025, and hotel bookings are up every month, except May, by between 2% and 5%,” he continued. “We also have more freight sailings and considerably more lane metreage than we did under Condor.”
Panel chair Deputy Montfort Tadier said that the main criticisms that Islanders had shared as part of the review had been over scheduling, pricing and the quality of vessels.
Deputy Morel replied that, from the latest figures he had seen, punctuality and reliability were “very good”
He added that the longer journey between Jersey and St Malo was due to the vessel’s 29-knot speed being the most fuel efficient while also reducing emissions and protecting the engines.
However, he added that a new purpose-built vessel would be on the route from the end of 2028.
The minister admitted that one mistake he had made since DFDS had been selected was not insisting that the operator consult with stakeholders before making changes to services.
“From now on, I will ask DFDS to consult first before coming to government to discuss any service change,” he told the panel.
