Brittany Ferries won’t be taking further legal action over the joint tender process, according to one of its top execs.
Jean-Marc Roué, President of Brittany Ferries’ governance board, made the comments in an interview with French newspaper Ouest-France published Friday.
In it, he told the French newspaper that Brittany Ferries, Condor’s parent company, was still trying to get a detailed breakdown of the results of the first tender – which saw Guernsey and Jersey making split decisions.
But, he said, Brittany Ferries isn’t planning to head back to court.
After Guernsey single-handedly chose Brittany Ferries as its ferry operator in October, Danish shipping giant DFDS successfully won in the second round of tenders for a Jersey-only service.
Brittany Ferries then failed in a legal challenge against the decision.
Complaints included concerns over the way the Jersey-only tender was designed following the collapse of the initial pan-island procurement process, an alleged lack of reasons as to why the French firm was not awarded the contract and claims that certain public statements had “clearly indicated” a preference for DFDS prior to the start of the Jersey-only tender.
DFDS is due to take over Jersey’s services at the start of April, while Condor Ferries will continue running Guernsey’s.
Mr Roué said what would happen to the vessels currently operating the Jersey route was “under discussion” – but that it was likely some may be sold.
Mr Roué said his company would work with Manche Iles Express and DFDS on an inter-island service “when things will have calmed down. This would be split “in an equitable fashion”, he said.
Addressing the company’s finances, which were under scrutiny before and during the tender process, Mr Roué was firm that Condor “did not lose money” in 2023 and 2024.
“The company has always been profitable, but it incurred significant debt during the covid crisis to meet the terms of its contract,” he said.
“At that time, we requested support from Jersey, which declined. We also sought a deferral of port fees. Poole, Guernsey, and Saint-Malo agreed; Jersey refused. When we became the majority shareholders of Condor, we cleared the debt.”