Condor goes freight-only amid second crew covid outbreak

Friday 11 February 2022

Condor’s Commodore Clipper sailings will no longer be able to carry passenger’s today and tomorrow due to another covid outbreak among the ship’s crew.

The ferry provider said it was therefore below the legal number to be able to run a passenger service and would have to carry freight only.

The affected journeys are Portsmouth to Jersey and Guernsey today (Friday 11 Febraury) and tomorrow (Saturday 12 February).

Affected passengers are, however, being offered a place on the high-speed sailings from Poole. 

CEO Jon Napton explained that contingency plans hadn’t worked out. 

He explained: “The contingencies we introduced two years ago, which include the use of standby crew, have worked really well but even that measure has now been impacted by the increased infections of the Omicron variant.

“We also identified an alternative freight vessel this week to provide cover but unfortunately a technical issue means it is unavailable for the next two weeks.” 

He said that the crew are mostly symptom-free, but that it won’t be until March that the UK’s requirement for individuals to isolate if they have covid is lifted. In Jersey, that rule is also scheduled to be removed by the end of March.