Condor offered seven-month contract extension

The Government of Jersey has offered Condor Ferries an extension to its current contract

The Government of Jersey has offered Condor Ferries a seven-month extension on its current contract running freight and passenger ferry services to and from the island.

Companies had been invited to tender for services in both Jersey and Guernsey until 2040.

Guernsey has already chosen Brittany Ferries, the majority shareholder in Condor, but Jersey is yet to make a decision.

Deputy Kirsten Morel, who is overseeing the tender process for Jersey, said the offer would "protect our economy" and enable Condor to publish its summer schedules. Condor said it had no comment on the latest developments at this stage.

Morel said: "Following the breakdown of the joint Channel Islands tender process, we have invited both final bidders, DFDS and Brittany Ferries, to work with the Government of Jersey as we find the best solution for our long-term ferry services."

He told the BBC a decision on the long-term ferry contract was expected by the end of the year.

"We'll go into another process with both these bidders and from there that we will announce, before the New Year, a decision," he said.

"I am in a difficult position. I need to find financially resilient ferry services for our island.

"That financial resilience is all about being able to invest in a new fleet and being able to continue for the 15 years of the contract."

Guernsey has chosen Brittany Ferries to run its lifeline sea links for the next 15 years

Deputy Neil Inder, President of Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development, said he had hoped for a single solution between both islands.

"I would also take this opportunity to clarify that Guernsey’s position is that the joint tender process did not break down," he said.

"Joint scoring was closed by both islands prior to the Committee for Economic Development making its decision."

When asked for comment on the government's request to Condor for an extension, DFDS vice-president Filip Werne Hermann said: "We need to understand on what terms the short-term deal has been offered to Condor before DFDS will comment further."

'Massive harm'

Before the extension request was announced, the Jersey Hospitality Association said it was "shocked and disappointed" by the government's "indecision and incompetence" in the ferry tender process in an open letter to the chief minister.

Chairman Malcolm Lewis said the tender process "can only have done massive harm to the stability and confidence of not only the hospitality industry itself, but the island as a whole".

A Guernsey committee on Tuesday said it was evaluating the Guernsey-only approach from Brittany Ferries.

The Committee for Economic Development said it would finalise a contract in the next 10 days.

Inder said the two governments would put a "robust inter-island service" in place if Jersey chose DFDS over Brittany Ferries.