A fresh attempt to improve Jersey-Guernsey travel links is on the cards after the new Economic Development Minister promised to engage with Guernsey following months of deadlock.
Asked by Deputy Max Andrews “whether he has any plans” for an inter-island ferry service and “how he intends to establish” one after the States of Guernsey rejected DFDS’s proposal, Deputy Gerald Voisin did not comment specifically on sea travel but said he would be “seeking to engage” his Guernsey counterparts to discuss how they “can improve inter-island connectivity”.
The Danish ferry giant had proposed a regular service between the islands using the Stena Vinga vessel. The proposal would have seen the ferry arrive in Guernsey from Jersey on Friday evenings, returning late on Monday afternoons.
However, Guernsey’s Economic Development Minister Sasha Kazantzeva-Miller said last week that that the Friday sailing was “not acceptable” because the ship would only arrive after the Ports of Guernsey closed.
The impasse has been unnavigable since the Islands chose different ferry operators in March 2025.
Previous Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel had spoken out on a number of occasions previously about the challenges of negotiating with his Guernsey counterparts.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham recently told the BBC that he had “tried everything” to bring about new inter-island ferry services.
However, Guernsey’s Deputy Kazantzeva-Miller was firm that the island’s States had “shown full commitment to inter-island ferry services”.
Air-routes have been no easier to land on.
Guernsey’s Transport Licensing Authority – which is responsible for deciding which airlines can operate different routes – rejected Loganair’s bid to provide the “essential route” between Jersey and Guernsey, a decision blamed for deepening the inter-island divide.
However, Deputy Kazansteva-Miller has indicated her team would be willing to reopen travel connectivity negotiations, stating last Friday that, while there were no ongoing talks with the Government of Jersey, Guernsey politicians “are due to write to them imminently” to arrange further discussions.
