Ferry delay caused by ramp and registering issues

Deputy Kirsten Morel said the delay "highlighted the importance" of continuous communication between the government and DFDS

Jersey's new fast ferry to France was late going in to service as it needed to be re-registered and had problems with its ramp, the politician responsible has revealed.

Deputy Kirsten Morel was responding to questions from a scrutiny panel on 14 April on why the DFDS Tarifa Jet's first scheduled sailing in March had to be cancelled.

He said the ship's ramp needed to be made stronger to "accommodate heavier vehicles" and DFDS decided to "re-flag the vessel" on the United Kingdom shipping register.

In response to the delay, he said the complexity of the partnership with DFDS would "take time to embed" but he was "impressed" by the way it responded to the set back.

DFDS was relying on the slower Stena Vinga to take passengers between Jersey and St Malo.

The Tarifa Jet went in to full service on Saturday.

Deputy Kirsten Morel was in charge of Jersey's ferry tender process

Both the Government of Jersey and States of Guernsey started a joint tender process to secure a new ferry operator at the start of 2024.

A decision was due to be made in September but the process was delayed.

Guernsey's government announced in October that it had chosen Brittany Ferries to run it's service.

In December, Jersey's government announced it had opted for a different operator in Danish Company DFDS.

Brittany Ferries launched a legal challenge in response to Jersey's decision, which was denied by the court of appeal in January.

Morell said the legal action brought by Brittany Ferries "further delayed" the signing of the new agreement with DFDS until after it had been concluded.

'Very ambitious timescale'

Morel said DFDS manged to "mobilise its services within three months of the concession agreement being signed".

"The pre-commencement works included the acquisition of vessels, re-flagging of vessels, scheduling, creation of a new booking portal, acquisition of relevant permits from port authorities and the hiring of staff," he said.

He added: "Less than three months is a very ambitious timescale to achieve such a service."

Morel said the delay "highlighted the importance" of open and continuous communication between government and DFDS, "which is exactly what too place".