Mr Luxon said: "December 2016 marked my first eight months in the role as Condor’s CEO.  I am delighted that in this time we have made great strides after the challenges of 2015 and are in a good position to forge ahead in 2017. During the past year, we published our first Comprehensive Service Review in partnership with the States of Jersey and Guernsey. It is an evidence-based report and will help inform ongoing discussions between Condor, States of Jersey and States of Guernsey, regarding ferry services over the long term future.

"The year also saw strong performance across the fleet, with reliability at 98.7% and punctuality of 88.5%. We also invested heavily in customer services and improved communications with our customers, together with £100,000 on our CSR community support across our five ports.

"Condor’s year-round support for charities and organisations across the Islands was superbly illustrated only last month where staff and passengers created our own version of the social media craze, the mannequin challenge, which resulted in the company donating £1,000 to that most worthy of causes, Channel Islands Air Search.

"Next year we will be working with our partners at Visit Guernsey and Visit Jersey to increase visitor numbers by sea, supported by over £1m of marketing investment from Condor. We will, of course, maintain our focus on providing essential freight services and we hope that more Islanders than ever will want to travel with us. Our 2017 summer timetable was launched in November, and booking levels are already looking good.

"Closer to home, we continue to build confidence in our services within the local communities and maintain our dialogue and discussions with both States to ensure we meet the needs of all customers and stakeholders.

"Liberation and Rapide will both be back in service from February following their planned refits. We invest around £7 million every year maintaining our conventional and fast ferries to ensure we sustain these crucial lifeline links.

"As a Channel Island company, we are committed to supporting life in the islands by providing a year round car, passenger and freight service, as well as helping out in the local community.

"We all feel privileged and proud to have been part of Channel Island life for over 50 years, and will carry on playing our role in ensuring reliable, robust and affordable sea connections into 2017 and beyond."