Broken ramp means yet more delays for Condor

Monday 29 February 2016

It was another weekend of delays, mechanical faults and bad headlines for Condor Ferries and there is another cancelled sailing today.

The crossing on board the Commodore Clipper from Jersey to Portsmouth turned into a nightmare for more than a hundred “angry and frustrated” passengers who couldn’t get off the ferry with their cars when it docked at 7 am on Saturday morning.

The ramp broke on the upper car deck leaving 44 cars stuck on board for more than 12 hours.

A lot of passengers got off while it was being fixed but stranded passenger Kit Ashton tweeted to say one horse on board had to be sedated while engineers worked to fix the problem.

He tweeted to ask what it would take for Condor Ferries to live up to their contract and serve the public properly: "...get your act together this is unacceptable & way too regular. Invest & respect public service contract please."

He and fellow passengers were finally able to drive off the boat just before 8 pm on Saturday night.

Speaking on Saturday Condor’s Executive Chairman Russell Kew: “I’d like to apologise to all those customers who have been inconvenienced over the last 24 hours, and to thank them for their understanding and patience. 

“Having spent today in Portsmouth, members of the senior management team and I were able to answer customer questions, and support our staff in looking after all those who were affected.  I’d like to thank our engineering, call centre, on board and port staff for their commitment to supporting our customers.”

The ramp was still being repaired yesterday and the Commodore Clipper is meant to be due back in service this morning.

The Liberation was also out of action all weekend with technical problems and the company announced yesterday lunchtime that today’s crossing is cancelled again. It's now due to sail tomorrow.

Pic credit: Kit Ashton