The government of Jersey, which signed a contract with DFDS for the provision of lifeline ferry services between the UK/France and the largest of the Channel Islands, is to add a fourth ‘freight’ vessel to its ferry fleet, writes Jehan Ashmore

A 20-year contract with the large Danish ferry and logistics company is to start next month (28 March) on a route network connecting Jersey to Poole (Dorset), Portsmouth (Hampshire), and St. Malo in France. 

It is from this region that Roscoff-based Brittany Ferries were chosen as the preferred bidder by the government of Guernsey, which separately went ahead to award the contract to the French company, causing a rift between the islands, despite a joint-island tendering exercise of 10 months. Among the earlier bidders in the process were Stena Line, but they withdrew, and Irish Ferries were also understood to have been involved. 

The current contract between both islands is with the long-serving Guernsey-based operator Condor, which marked its 60th anniversary last year when Brittany Ferries acquired a controlling stake to become the majority shareholder.

Despite the setback, Brittany Ferries submitted a bid to the Jersey-only ferry tendering process. But as this never materialized, the French firm in Guernsey is to start services also on 28 March, while in neighbouring Jersey it is to be exclusively operated by DFDS.

Afloat contacted DFDS as to the lineup of vessels to launch Jersey services; they revealed a dedicated ro-ro freight vessel, though they have not released the name of the ship yet, nor route rotation. However, the Copenhagen-headquartered company did confirm the other ferries comprising one ropax vessel and two high-speed craft to meet the diverse needs of the island and support tourism and the hospitality sector in Jersey, the UK, and France.

The ferry trio are the chartered Stena Vinga and fastcrafts, Levante Jet and Terifa Jet, which had operated for a Spain-Morocco company on the Strait of Gibraltar, which DFDS acquired last year.

The redeployed ferries will be tailored to the specific needs of each route in the western English Channel. The conventional ferry Stena Vinga offers cabins for the longer Jersey-UK routes, while the fastcraft, with each 700 passengers and 200 cars, will link Jersey with Poole and St. Malo.

“We are pleased to introduce these vessels to our Jersey fleet. We will be able to service both passengers and businesses that rely on freight transport, providing an efficient and reliable service that meets the diverse needs of the island, as well as supporting tourism in the region,” says Chris Parker, route director for DFDS.

With a 400 passenger/342 car/102 trailer unit capacity, Stena Vinga in 2020 made its first relief duty on Stena Line’s Rosslare-Cherbourg route. It is one of the Frederikshavn-Gothenburg ferries, which last month was at Oresund Drydocks floating dry-dock in Landskrona. Afloat has since tracked its return to Gothenburg, the headquarters of the ferry owner, which chartered Stena Vinga in 2023 to Africa Morocco Line (AML), which Stena acquired a shareholding last year of the Strait of Gibraltar operator whose fleet includes former Fishguard-Rosslare ferry Stena Europe (see story) in AML livery.

Of almost the same ropax design as 'Vinga' is Condor Islander, which, along with the fleet, is to be rebranded into the new entity 'Brittany Ferries Channel Islands' when its Guernsey contract commences also on 28 March. Another ropax of a revised design is the Condor ferry Commodore Clipper, which last year was chartered to Brittany Ferries on the same Ireland-France route (at weekends) in tandem with Channel Islands operations. This was repeated this year. 

As for the DFDS Spain-Moroccan three short-sea routes, fast craft, Levante Jet, had served Algeciras-Ceuta, whereas Tarifa Jet served the Tarifa-Tanger Ville. A third route, Algeciras-Tanger Med, is run, but by conventional ferry Tanger Exprees, taking only 1 hour 30 minutes.

Both fastcraft are to be redeployed from the Europe-Africa routes along with Stena Vinga and be allocated on the Jersey-based routes listed below.  

Stena Vinga (built: 2005) Jersey - Portsmouth

Levante Jet (built: 2015) Jersey - Poole

Tarifa Jet (build: 1997) Jersey - St. Malo

DFDS is committed to increasing the frequency of ferries to address high demand in peak periods, introducing high-speed ferries to the UK, and its 20-year contract is to secure investments in port infrastructure and three new vessels by 2032.

Currently, Condor's Commodore Goodwill operates freight services along with fastcrafts Condor Voyager and Condor Liberation. However, some vessels could be withdrawn when Brittany Ferries Channel Islands launches its services and as a consequence of its Jersey operator.

The older of the craft, Condor Voyager, beforehand was with Brittany Ferries on a seasonal Cherbourg-Portsmouth route as the Normandie Express, which in 2021 was chartered to Condor, noting the French company acquired a 25% stake in the operator two years previously.