A MONTHS-long process to choose the Island’s new ferry provider for the next 15 years has been abandoned after both bidders failed to win the tender, the Economic Development Minister revealed in the States this morning.
Deputy Kirsten Morel – who has been under significant pressure these past few weeks to announce the winner – said the Council of Ministers had instead voted last Friday to embark on a new “rapid” process to confirm the new ferry service which would be “short and simple”.
His impromptu statement was also the first time he confirmed that the bid from Condor’s rival DFDS was “the better of the two” – but he revealed that the Danish ferry service had been “eliminated” from the joint process on a “technical legal point”.
Meetings are now set to be held with both Condor Ferries and DFDS next week, Deputy Morel said, and “independent evaluators will assess the bids”.
Officers will provide a preferred bidder recommendation by the end of this month, and he will then seek the Council of Ministers support for the recommendation, before announcing the winner also before the end of November.
The winner will start their service at the end of March 2025.
Deputy Morel said there were “strong reasons” why Jersey had taken longer than Guernsey and spent time outlining the financial difficulties that Condor Ferries is currently facing.
