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Jersey, Guernsey and even tiny Sark have banded together to contribute £300,000 to help keep a French ferry operator afloat following a pummelling by the pandemic, Brexit and rising operating costs.
The deal with Manche Îles Express, which runs the passenger-only service between the Channel Islands and France, aims to secure a timetable similar to 2024, when over 400 trips were made.
The company is largely propped up by French local authorities of the Departmental Council of La Manche, which has invested an estimated €20m since it launched in 2005.
But, under what Jersey's Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel described as a solution for the "short-term", the operator will now receive €200,000 from the Government of Jersey, which previously offered £47,840 in support in 2018, €167,000 from the States of Guernsey, and €3,000 from the Sark Chief Pleas.
The Manche authorities are also seeking support from the ports used by the company: Carteret, Diélette and Granville.
The boost comes following a particularly challenging period for the operator.
Despite having its busiest-ever year with 110,000 passengers in 2019, the outbreak of covid the following year led to what was described as a "difficult year for local sailings" due to border restrictions and PCR testing, the Manche Department and Manche Îles Express decided to cease all sailings from spring 2021.
Pictured: The Victor Hugo, one of the two vessels owned by the Manche Department.
In September 2021, Jean Morin, the President of the Manche Departmental Council, which owns the two vessels Manche Îles Express had been operating under a public service delegation agreement, the Victor Hugo and Granville, said the Department wanted to change its process.
A tender process was launched in spring 2021 in a bid to identify an operator that would be able to provide the service in a more profitable way.
Negotiations started in early 2021 for the provision of a “northern” line, departing from Barneville-Carteret and Diélette, and a “southern” line, leaving from Granville, for which it would continue to provide the vessels.
Shipping company DNO was selected following a tender process and it was confirmed that sailings between the islands and Normandy would resume in Spring 2022 – but the Manche Department was clear there would still be challenges on the horizon.
“With this new contract, there is still a double uncertainty, health-related and political, and therefore economical over the market," it said at the time.
While the health-related uncertainty began to subside, the latter – linked to Brexit – still needed to be resolved.
The issue was that, the governments of Jersey and Guernsey – and by extension Alderney and Sark – adopted the same travel rules as the UK, only allowing French travellers with a passport to enter and no longer those with an identity card.
"However, only 60% of adult passengers have a passport," the Manche Department explained at the time, noting that the figure stood at only "40% for minors".
According to Manche Department President Jean Morin, ferries from France went from being 80% full to 40%.
In February 2023, M. Morin warned about the impact in even starker terms – saying that unless post-Brexit border controls in Jersey were changed to make it easier for passengers without passports to travel, local authorities would stop funding the shipping company which runs the service.
Pictured: Jean Morin, the President of the Departmental Council of Manche.
The call was met with action, with local authorities announcing an ID travel scheme in March, then formally launching a pilot scheme.
While the scheme was warmly welcomed, M. Morin nonetheless pointed out that funding the ferries was becoming increasingly expensive - particularly when boats aren’t full enough.
It was reported at the time that the authority were spending €2 million a year on the ships, with Manche Îles Express receiving €200 from the Département per passenger, on top of the €70 cost of a return ticket.
It was for that reason, M. Morin said, that he would be appealing to island Ministers for help and had been holding discussions with Deputy Morel, who has been looking to cultivate closer links to France.
While there were concerns earlier this year that post-Brexit biometric border controls would threaten the ongoing viability of the scheme, a deal was struck this summer allowing it to continue until September next year.
It was confirmed yesterday that the islands had formally decided to intervene with financial support in response to "increased operating costs which put the viability of the service at risk".
Guernsey's Chief Minister Lyndon Trott – who pointed to the islands' "cultural connections to Normandy" as well as tourist attractions in Guernsey that have a particular appeal for French visitors, such as Victor Hugo's house – said losing the service would be a "significant loss to the Bailiwick Islands and our wider economies".
Deputy Morel added: "From increasing tourism, enabling business opportunities, or simply connecting friends and family across the channel, islanders have benefitted from the passenger services offered by Manche Iles Express for two decades, and it continues to provide a valuable service."
It's not yet clear whether the islands will be called upon again for support, though Deputy Morel said the islands and the Manche Department were "working together on a longer-term solution".
The financial support is "conditional", however, on the scheduled service "operating as intended in 2025".
It comes as the Governments of Jersey and Guernsey are finalising deliberations over which company should be appointed the key ferry provider for the Channel Islands.
The incumbent, Condor, which operates the Saint Malo route, maintains that it remains the right provider for the islands. As Express revealed over summer, winning the tender is "fundamental" to its future.
But it is facing competition from Danish shipping giant DFDS, while it's also understood Irish Ferries has also submitted a bid.
The process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, and business leaders have urged the Government not to delay amid concerns over how islanders and hospitality businesses will be able to plan.
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