Island Businesses Prioritize Ferry Service Reliability

Operating a business on an island necessitates that companies incorporate additional resilience into their services. On Wednesday, Guernsey designated Brittany Ferries as the preferred bidder to manage its maritime connections for the upcoming 15 years. This report includes perspectives from Guernsey businesses that rely on ferry operators. Island customers have experienced delays of several months in receiving new vehicles. In August, Condor Ferries informed car dealerships in both Guernsey and Jersey that a maximum of 15 cars per day could be imported to the islands, a change from the company’s prior policy of no imposed limit. Peter Beausire, joint managing director of Le Mont Saint Garage, described the situation as a “struggle,” noting that their usual import volume was 15 cars monthly, and this alteration resulted in “the garage was running out of stock.” Beausire further stated, “We have taken delivery of a few cars this week but before then we hadn’t taken delivery of cars since the middle of August.” He added, “The main struggle for us is not only having a lack of cars, but customers that were expecting their cars in August just weren’t here, and now we are into October and the cars have just started to arrive.” Jamie Blondel, director of World Travel, asserted that “Reliability is the key thing that everybody is after.” He also indicated that while passengers understand sailing postponements due to adverse weather, effective communication is crucial for customers. Mr. Blondel expressed a desire for the establishment of a consistent sailing route connecting the islands. He observed, “Over the summer there was maybe a period of three or four days where there might not be a ferry service between Guernsey and Jersey, which you’d think during the summer would be fairly frequent.” He concluded, “A lot of people that come over here are quite surprised that there isn’t more frequency of that sailing.” Jim Le Lievre, managing director at the builders’ merchant CDS, stated that he would appreciate an increase in the regularity of sailings to the islands. He explained that his company is compelled to place orders for substantial quantities of goods, as a failure of boats to arrive means “you’ve got nothing to sell.” Le Lievre elaborated, “If we could get more shipments we could reduce our stockholding. We have to allow for bad weather, for problems for shipping and hence why our stock is as it is.” He further commented, “If you compared us to an English merchant, I’d think we have got double the amount of stock because we have to allow for that because we would run out.” Alex Argo, who has served as store manager at Ideal Furnishings for 20 years, expressed a desire for “regular shipments” to the island. He mentioned that the company maintains a reserve of goods at UK ports awaiting transport to Guernsey, adding that “when it comes in we have to work that little bit harder to get the goods out.” Mr. Argo stated, “On a daily basis we need our furniture to come in. We can’t be waiting an extra week, two weeks for our stuff to come in because that’s an extra delay to the customer.” He also advocated for “a better price on shipment,” explaining that the rising cost of delivery “is coming to a point that it’ll have to be passed onto the consumer.” Readers can follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, and submit story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding the BBC’s approach to external linking is available.