Latest news with #Ferries
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Brittany Ferries' boss has mixed feelings on Guernsey launch
Brittany Ferries' boss says he is excited for the launch of the firm's new Guernsey service on Friday but also disappointed over staff 60 years the Channel Islands had a joint ferry operator for both Guernsey and Jersey - however, while Guernsey will continue to work with Brittany Ferries, Jersey has chosen DFDS after a tender Ferries, Condor's parent company, was chosen in October to run Guernsey's service for the next 15 executive Christophe Mathieu said: "We've had a lot of encouraging bookings for Guernsey. However, there is still extreme disappointment for the people that have consequently had to leave Condor and it is very sad the way it ended up." Condor's previous contracts with both islands ended on Ferries is in the process of selling two of the vessels that were part of the Channel Islands' fleet. Mr Mathieu said: "The crew of those two vessels are leaving the company and of course there are people in Jersey that are either transferring to our competitor or moving on. "There are also people mainly in the Poole headquarter [losing jobs], because a lot of support functions are impacted. There are quite a few people losing their jobs."Brittany Ferries says it is committed to investing in the fleet that serves Guernsey. It is likely it will replace the roll-on/roll-off ferry, Islander, and then its high-speed catamaran, Voyager. Mr Mathieu said: "We are a regional operator and I think Guernsey will be very much in the heart of our network. "Let's focus on the future and making it a successful partnership with Guernsey as we really look forward to it."
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Millbay Docks' £23m transformation nears completion
A £23m overhaul at Plymouth's Millbay docks is nearing programme includes a new boarding bridge and a fully refurbished terminal for Brittany Ferries passengers as well as improvements to the Ferries has been big business for Millbay Docks for more than 50 first sailing between Roscoff in France and Plymouth in Devon set off in Janaury 1973. 'Critical port' But it has been through some challenging times with passenger numbers and freight volumes still down on pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit the port owner and operator ABP has invested £23m to upgrade Millbay and to keep its biggest customer on board."It's a critical port for us and working with our strategic partner and customer Brittany Ferries is really important," said Ashely Curnow, ABP's divisional port manager for Wales and the South West."It's also really important that we keep upgrading the port to keep it as modern as we can."I mention moving towards net zero - but also enhancing that customer experience is really important for us," he now the most visible sign is a new £6m passenger boarding bridge, which when complete will provide a fully covered walkway between the terminal and ferry. The section already installed was shipped from Spain to Plymouth on board a Brittany Ferry at the end of last year. The remaining sections are due to arrive by road from Portsmouth in the next few Ferries extended its annual winter break this year to allow time for the work to be services resume at the end of March foot passengers will also see a fully refurbished terminal group head of brand Gareth Bewley said it was a commitment to continued operations in Plymouth."It certainly highlights how dearly we hold Plymouth. Our original route was between Roscoff and Plymouth and it will always be that way," he of the plan for growth is to attract more visitors from France to Plymouth."We've had our UK headquarters here and our French headquarters in Roscoff for many, many years and over that time we've built such strong connections and we're really pleased to see Plymouth being upgraded to a level where we think it has become an even more attractive destination than it was before," said Mr project also pulled in £1.3m of seed funding from Plymouth & South Devon Freeport towards upgrades and strengthening to the quayside.
