Both Manche Iles ferries out of action

Wednesday 18 July 2018

Both Manche Iles ferries have broken down, putting thousands of additional inter-island summer seats at risk.

Some 250 people have so far seen their tickets cancelled, and, although the firm hopes to have one back in service by the end of this week, they are offering no guarantees that will happen.

The company was chosen as the preferred operator for an inter-island ferry earlier this year, beating several other firms.

But now Operating Manager Hugues Gros has said that both of the company’s ferries – the Victor Hugo and Granville – are out-of-service, threatening the thousands of extra summer seats promised to inter-island travellers.

Pictured: Manche Iles cancellations on Monday.

“We have an electrical fault with the Victor Hugo, and a mechanical one with the Granville. They are both technical and we are still identifying the fault, the technicians are currently checking the engines,” he told Express.

“We are hopeful to have the Victor Hugo back by the end of the week. We have sea trials planned in for Thursday. But for the other ship, I don’t know.”

All boats have been cancelled this week, he said, and everyone affected is in the process of having their tickets refunded.

The latest news comes despite the 21-year-old Victor Hugo having only recently been refurbished at a cost of €1.3million and launched in April. Those renovations involved increasing the ship’s capacity from 195 to 236 seats, as well as making the area more comfortable.

Pictured: The Victor Hugo was refurbished at a cost of more than €1million and relaunched in April.

But earlier this month, it broke down in Sark on the weekend of the island’s Summer Festival, and passengers had to be collected by another boat.

On the firm’s Facebook site, passengers vented their anger over this week’s delays and cancellations which began last weekend.

Sigolène Fournier blasted Manche Iles as “not reliable at all!”

Describing her recent experience, she wrote: “Cancellation of the boat on the way back! We were put on another boat to go from Granville, which made us wake up at 4am. Boat broke down again on return with an arrival at St Malo at 22:45. Then two and a half hours by bus, then 45 minutes by car. Arrival in Cherbourg at 2:30 in the morning. We were not even given a bottle of water! When you come out of three back operations, hard to be crammed into a bus where there is no place to unfold his legs. Channel Island Express, not so express that! I will never recommend this company that only has two boats and is not able to do its service!”

After being chosen as the preferred operator, the company later agreed to add an additional 23 weekend return inter-island ferry trips, after initial disappointment at the number due to be run.

Pictured: How Manche Iles advertised their summer inter-island service.

Manches Iles said it needed underwriting for these extra trips, as they were not economical. Guernsey and Jersey then agreed to split a maximum of £95,680 as an underwrite, but only if the services were less than 60% full.

An expression of interest for the ferry was first put out last September. Nine companies came forward, but only two submitted formal bids by the deadline. A joint subsidy of £250,000 had been offered, but Manches Iles declined.

The seasonal May to September service had been due to provide an additional 30,000 inter-island seats.