Ferry decision likely to face another week's delay

The decision on who will run Jersey's sea links for the next 15 years wont be made next week as expected

A decision on who will run Jersey’s sea links for the next 15 years will be delayed by at least another week.

Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Farnham said in a statement last week that a decision would be made in the week commencing 25 November.

However, Economic Development Minister Deputy Kirsten Morel told a group of politicians who hold his policy area to account that a decision would more likely be made in the first week of December.

Morel also told the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel that it was still unclear whether a potential contract would be signed with Condor or its parent company, Brittany Ferries.

Contract signing confusion

Last week in the States Assembly, Morel said a new tender process to pick the island’s ferry operating was beginning after a joint tender process with Guernsey had failed.

He told the panel: "We are waiting for the bids to arrive and the aim is to announce the winner of that process around a Jersey-only service.

"If I’m being honest, I believe it will be the first week of December."

Morel added that he believed both Danish company DFDS and Brittany Ferries would take part in the new tender process.

In the previous joint tender process with Guernsey, Morel said it only came to light at a later stage that, if Brittany won the process, a contract would not be signed with it but rather with Condor Ferries.

Despite a new process beginning, Morel said he still had "no idea" on whether he would be signing a contract with Brittany or Condor "until they bring forward the bid".

Condor failed the last bid because of financial concerns and DFDS failed on a legal technical issue, but Morel said he was open to either bidder "winning the new process" and did not have "a preference".

The Committee for Economic Development said negotiations for a "Guernsey-only contract with Brittany Ferries are progressing well" and members hoped to publish next year’s schedules this week.

Morel was adamant that starting a new process was the right thing to do.

He said: "It would have been much easier for me to say: 'Yes, we follow Guernsey,' but there were significant concerns I couldn’t overlook, and I still maintain that’s why I’m here as minister - it's inserting the human in the process."

Morel added that, with the new process, he was confident they “would make a decision one way or another".