"Condor Rapide was the next vessel to be changed as part of our rolling fleet replacement programme," said Elwyn Dop, Condor’s Operations Director. 

"After many years of good service it was time to replace her, so the much larger Voyager will significantly increase capacity on our key routes and this change demonstrates our commitment to the islands."

The Rapide will start a new life for Trasmapi, an operator from Spain.

The Voyager has had a choppy start - it was unable to berth on its first sailing to Guernsey and has experienced some delays to services so far due to "technical" issues. 

Pictured: The Voyager, an Incat-manufactured vessel, does not have bow thrusters, which help to counter the forces of wind and tidal current when manoeuvring in close quarters.

The vessel, a 98m-long high speed catamaran, is wholly owned by Brittany Ferries, a minority shareholder in Condor. Mr Dop said the lease of Voyager from Brittany Ferries provides an opportunity for Condor to "fully evaluate" the vessel.

He continued: "We wanted to take the opportunity whilst it was available. The ship is very smooth and quiet with large, light open spaces and offers a significantly greater passenger and vehicle capacity than our other high speed craft. Her top speed is also higher and will reduce crossing times on the routes she operates.