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Jersey and Guernsey have “not reached a shared view” on the future of the islands’ key ferry contract – with Guernsey confirming it intends to “push ahead alone” and enter negotiations with Brittany Ferries.
But the island's Committee for Economic Development said they were seeking a deal which "leaves the door open for Jersey".
The islands have run a joint tender exercise for the last 10 months. Bids were received from Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Irish Ferries, with the Brittany Ferries and DFDS understood to have made the final shortlist.
Following urgent calls from both islands' Chambers of Commerce alongside Brittany Ferries yesterday, Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development said it had unanimously selected Brittany Ferries – which owns Condor Ferries – to "provide certainty for island residents and businesses".
Jersey's government released a statement just 45 minutes later, saying they plan to meet with both bidders within 24 hours as there are "further questions that need to be answered".
Jersey's Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, Murray Norton, said tonight that business leaders were calling for "Jersey to make their choice based on the best deal for Jersey, on the best equipped vessels and best financial stability for now and the next 15 years".
Guernsey's decision appears to be a lifeline for Condor Ferries, which suffered a £1.4m loss between March 2022 and March 2023. Accounts for the investment company under which the ferry firm sits said that its future is contingent on whether the company wins the tender – though the impact of only servicing just one island remain unclear.
Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries, tonight said the business was "thrilled" with Guernsey's decision, and appeared to strike a confident note when it comes to bringing Jersey on board.
Pictured: Condor CEO Christophe Mathieu said the operator was "thrilled" to have Guernsey's backing.
"As we have maintained from the beginning, we have the right ships, the right schedule and experience to support the Bailiwick in the long term. We also look forward to the Government of Jersey joining us in this initiative. With over 70 years of providing freight and passenger services to Guernsey and Jersey, collaborating will allow us to optimise the schedule for the benefit of both islands," Mr Mathieu said.
The shock announcement brings to an end months of careful negotiations for the 15-year Channel Islands ferry contract and appears to signal a fresh rift between the islands.
Jersey’s Ministers were blindsided in 2022 when Guernsey announced it was planning to purchase a new ferry for Condor. Then in 2023, it loaned the company £26m to avoid an “emergency” – the nature of which has never been made public.
The full statement from Guernsey's Economic Development Committee said the appointment was "subject to further negotiations on some elements of the contract" and came after "careful and thorough consideration of all bids".
Pictured: The States of Guernsey helped fund Condor's purchase of the Islander.
It added: "The Committee's view was that Brittany Ferries were able to provide full assurance that they had access to a suitable fleet and would be able to begin operations immediately and seamlessly, with the summer schedule ready to be published shortly.
"This means that Brittany Ferries will provide the island's lifeline sea links, freight services and passenger services, using its management and infrastructure as well as deploying Condor's current fleet."
Final contract negotiations will now take place with the expectation that a formal agreement will be reached in November, the statement added.
It concluded that Guernsey's preference remains a "shared pan-Channel Island service with Jersey", but "we await word from our Jersey partners, expected tomorrow".
Deputy Neil Inder, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said: "At this stage Guernsey and Jersey have not reached a shared view on how to proceed. That is not for me to comment on, and I understand political discussions in Jersey are ongoing. All I can say at this stage is that while both islands share common objectives, agreement has not yet been reached on the best way to jointly deliver those objectives.
"The Committee has not taken the decision to push ahead alone at this stage lightly, but following the objective evaluation process Brittany Ferries' bid was successful and we are committed to providing certainty to islanders as soon as we were able to do so."
"An arrangement will be put in place with Brittany Ferries which leaves the door open for Jersey if Jersey does decide to seek a different approach," he continued, maintaining that the outcome was not a "failure of the tender process".
Deputy Inder added that a Guernsey-only service from Brittany Ferries would result in a "new arrangement" that changed how some services operate.
Guernsey's Chamber of Commerce said they will be meeting with the island's leaders tomorrow to discuss the decision.
We are meeting with Government at 2pm (Thursday 31st) to discuss the ferry tender decision and represent your views. Post your questions below or email alice@guernseychamber.com
— Guernsey Chamber (@GuernseyChamber) October 30, 2024
Jersey's government maintained tonight that they were "doing everything possible to ensure a swift conclusion".
Alongside the statement tonight, the States of Guernsey released a list of "benefits" of the Brittany Ferries tender:
"A service operated with the backing of one of Europe's largest ferry operators - The bid is submitted by Brittany Ferries, with a turnover of approximately €450m in 2023, operating nine vessels with 2,500 employees, now the majority shareholder in Condor, which itself has served the Channel Islands for more than 50 years.
"Assurance of fleet - Brittany Ferries has provided assurance that it will be able to deploy the current Condor fleet as the majority shareholder of that business. There will be a smooth and seamless transition to the new arrangements, which will ensure that the minimum service requirements continue to be met and the schedules for 2025 can be published shortly;
"A different deployment of the current fleet - the fleet will be used differently to ensure that services have greater resilience, and optimise connections between Guernsey, the UK and St Malo for local residents, visitors to the islands and freight users. The Committee remains committed to maintaining inter-island travel, and as a priority will work with all interested parties to do all it can to retain this important link for both islands; and the President of Economic Development has spoken today with his counterpart and has been assured that if there is a divergence between the Islands, those negotiations will be at the forefront of their ongoing relationship.
"The right balance of risk and opportunity.
"The fact that the business already has a large scale, very strong foothold in France, Spain and the UK and well-regarded standards and ethos of the Brittany brand, which includes a strong customer service focus and back up to deal with contingencies."
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