We’re going to need a bigger stronger boat – Channel Islands’ Danish ferry not strong enough for lorries is disastrous for families and health of islanders

A ferry f***up? Deputy Kirsten Morel was in charge of Jersey’s ferry tender process but seems to think we’d understand that it was difficult for him.

Professor John Robertson OBA

The media in Scotland have been platforming regularly the notion that CalMac and the SNP Government are to blame for the privately-owned Ardrossan harbour not being maintained and improved in time for the new bigger ferry everybody on Arran, it seems, was desperate for. They’ve also been dramatizing the notion that the folk of South Uist (pop 1 754) have been traumatised by having to accept a free ride to Oban instead of Mallaig and then drive to Oban.

Meanwhile in Jersey, the Danish company DFDS have had to cancel their service from France because the ship’s ramp wasn’t strong enough to ‘accommodate heavier vehicles.’ Would that be lorries full of the essentials the islanders need to survive, like the ones on Arran and South Uist?

Who was responsible? Deputy Kirsten Morel said the delay “highlighted the importance” of continuous communication between the government and DFDS but did not seem to think he should apologise. What did BBC Jersey think? They just agreed with him that the deal had been complex and was sorted now. A bit different from the media coverage we get here, in Scotland, eh?

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30q6m4rgq3o

is this the first ferry fiasco in the Channel Islands?

Nope:

Channel Islanders sickened as new Danish ferry service cancels sailings on very first day due to ‘technical issues’ only days after hearing there will be no Sunday service at all for more than a hundred thousand of them
Channel Island ferry service in chaos and passengers suffer as private companies fight for the contract with a ‘war of words’ and a ‘smear campaign’
Channel Islands foreign ferry crew cannot speak and steer well enough to avoid killing fishermen or hit a harbour wall but CalMac crew can do this
Islanders have photos of empty shelves caused by ferry fiasco but only on the Channel Islands
Ferries in crisis in the Channel Isles, in Cornwall, on Shetland, in Canada and across the Mersey – are they just difficult to operate?

4 thoughts on “We’re going to need a bigger stronger boat – Channel Islands’ Danish ferry not strong enough for lorries is disastrous for families and health of islanders”

  2. Are you aware of this John

    Are you aware of this John?

    April 23, 2025

    Engine debris on Portland cruise ship may have caused October 2023 fire, regulator says.

    Engine debris on Portland cruise ship may have caused October 2023 fire, regulator says | Mainebiz.biz

    More info here

    US NTSB reports engine failure led to fire on ferry

    While 128 passengers were still onboard the docked ferry a fire exploded in the engine room and “One of the 82 crew members, a motorman, suffered burns on about 40% of his body and was admitted to a local hospital, according to the report.

    While putting some of the blame for the engine debris on a lapse in maintenance, investigators commended the crew for quick action that helped prevent the fire from spreading and for alerting passengers quickly and safely evacuating them.”

    Although the fire “caused an estimated $2.4 million in damage to the vessel”

    no government or mp or even the owners seem to have been blamed. Could you imagine if this had happened in Scotland on a Calmac ferry?

    JB

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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