DFDS has brought in a relief vessel and made changes to its sailing schedules in a bid to “support travel arrangements over the Easter weekend” after one of its fast ferries was damaged in a collision with the Elizabeth east berth.
The update follows confirmation from the Danish shipping firm that its Tarifa Jet vessel “made contact” with the ferry berth and sustained damage to its stern while arriving in St Helier Harbour on Sunday evening.
No passengers or crew were injured in the incident.
A Ports of Jersey spokesperson said: “Our inspections have identified some localised damage to the east berth. Our in-house engineering team is already making good progress with repairs, and we expect the berth to be fully operational again in time for the weekend.
“The west berth remains unaffected and fully operational.”
Tarifa Jet departed the harbour on Wednesday morning under her own power, with the support of a Ports of Jersey pilot and a tug escort – and is headed to Portland for repairs.
DFDS has since announced a series of measures “to support travel arrangements over the Easter weekend”.
This includes the deployment of freight and passenger ship Côte d’Albâtre to operate a revised schedule between Portsmouth and Jersey.
The vessel is scheduled to commence sailings from the UK port at 1pm on Friday and will continue operating throughout the Easter weekend.
Passengers currently booked on Jersey – Portsmouth and Jersey – Poole services on Sunday and Monday will be transferred to Côte d’Albâtre on the Jersey – Portsmouth route.
Additionally, freight and passenger ship Stena Vinga is due to begin operating from tomorrow evening to provide connectivity between Jersey and St Malo.
DFDS said that it had been “working closely with the ports of St Helier and St Malo to maximise sailing availability”, including the introduction of additional departures on both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
“Customers affected by these schedule changes will be contacted directly by email with their updated travel arrangements,” the company added.
Tarifa Jet’s services are due to be taken on by fast ferry Levante Jet, which is currently undergoing a planned refit in Dunkirk and is expected to return to service next week.
