JERSEY Post has said recently-announced changes to DFDS’s sailing schedule will “reduce pressure in our network” and enable “a return to our normal service for all mail and parcels”.
The comments follow an announcement by the Danish shipping firm that, from 17 February, Tuesday sailings between Portsmouth and Jersey with its passenger and freight vessel Stena Vinga – which the ferry operator had previously announced would be suspended until 7 April – will be reinstated, “providing six additional rotations during this period”.
As part of the revised schedule, Saturday Stena Vinga sailings will be withdrawn on 28 February, 7 March, 14 March and 21 March – though DFDS noted that it will still be operating two freight arrivals per day from Monday to Friday and that the Caesarea Trader will continue providing its usual Saturday morning freight service.
The temporary changes, which were announced earlier this week, were welcomed by Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel in the wake of “critical feedback from key stakeholders”.
From 22 March, the service will return to a six-day-a-week schedule, operating from Monday to Saturday.
A spokesperson for Jersey Post said: “We welcome the reintroduction of the Tuesday evening ferry service, following consultation by DFDS.”
They continued: “Mondays and Tuesdays are our busiest days, with nearly half of all weekly mail arriving on these two days.
“Letters and parcels remain an important service for many islanders and businesses, helping to keep Jersey connected.”
The spokesperson explained that returning the bulk of its weekly volume to its original arrival days “will reduce pressure in our network, allowing a return to our normal service for all mail and parcels”.
