“We will not be taken hostage”

Tuesday 22 August 2017

Hundreds of Channel Islands passengers “will not be taken hostage” as part of a protest by angry French yachtsmen, a ferry operator has warned.

The comments come from Hugues Gros, Manches Iles Operations Director, after disgruntled French boaters threatened to stop hundreds of tourists from Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney travelling to Diélette.

They said that blocking the company’s Victor Hugo catamaran from reaching the port may be their only choice to get the attention of the Cotentin authorities, who failed to fix the port’s broken door for more than two years, stopping them from sailing for 15 out of the past 24 months.

The issue started in early 2015 when the sailors realised that the marina’s folding door had become faulty and needed to be replaced. By February, the door became stuck and the marina subsequently emptied, grounding all the boats within. Some vessels sustained serious damage, which stopped the Port Diélette's users, who pay between €800 and €2,000 for their berth annually, from sailing for several months after.

Video: Angry yachtsmen are threatening to block Manches Iles' ferries travelling from the Channel Islands to Diélette.

Local authorities pledged to provide a more robust door by early 2017, but encountered numerous delays. A replacement finally arrived in July, but crucial jacks and counterweights had been forgotten, leading to further issues.

“It amounted to trying to pull a kitchen door without hinges,” the local press reported.

While there is now a temporary fix in place, the yachtsmen complain that it’s too slow to open - between 35 and 40 minutes - meaning that they can miss optimum fishing periods during the wait.

The Association of Users of the Port of Diélette - the name by which the 180 incensed yachtsmen have taken to calling themselves - feel that their concerns have not been taken seriously by authorities, which led to protests and banner-hanging across the port and the circulation of a petition earlier this month.

A spokesperson told local media: "They must stop taking us for children. We are able to understand things. It has been going on for fifteen months. We are extremely penalised. Large-draft boats like sailboats can hardly get out of the water.”

Pictured: Hugues Gros, Operations Director of Manche Iles, says that the ferry company "is a stranger" to the issue and should not be used as a pawn in Port Diélette protests.

But now, feeling that they have no other choice, they have threatened to block Manche Iles' 195-passenger sailings between Diélette and the Channel Islands from going ahead.

Mr Gros, however, said that, while he understands their concerns, he will not tolerate Manches Iles being drawn into the debacle.

“Victor Hugo cannot and must not be taken hostage in this issue that does not concern the company. We are complete strangers to this problem. We undertake public service with the Departement de la Manche and the maritime liaisons with the Channel Islands cannot be stopped because of a problem with sailing,” he told* Express.

Up to now, the company had enjoyed “good relations” with fellow port users, he said, but warned that, “The potential blockage of Victor Hugo would go against these relations.”

“We are paying close attention to what is going on there… and hope that these problems will soon be sorted out,” he added.

The next Jersey ferry to Diélette is still scheduled to depart tomorrow, but it remains to be seen whether protesters will choose to block access.

*Translated from French.