Brittany Ferries is taking legal action against Jersey's Economic Development Minister.

The ferry firm is challenging Deputy Kirsten Morel's decision not to award it the contract to operate the island's ferry services.

In a Royal Court hearing, Brittany Ferries was granted leave to bring judicial review proceedings on a limited basis.

The reasons will be set out in a soon-to-be-published court judgement.

DFDS - which did win the Jersey contract - is contesting the case.

A statement from the Judicial Greffe said:

For reasons  set out in a judgment which will shortly be published, the Court granted Bretagne leave on a limited basis to challenge the Ministerial Decision of the Respondent on or about 3 December 2024 not to award a long-term operation concession contract for a passenger and freight ferry service operating routes between the Bailiwick of Jersey, the United Kingdom and France to the Applicant and award it to DFDS A/S (“DFDS”).

 

A further hearing took place today (23 December) whereby the court considered procedural directions following the granting of leave for judicial review and in respect of an application by DFDS to set aside the granting of leave.  

Brittany Ferries, majority owner of Condor Ferries, won the tender to operate the Guernsey routes beyond the end of March 2025.  The decision was announced on 30 October.

Jersey's government selected DFDS following a second, fast-tracked Jersey-only tender process, announcing its decision on 3 December.

Jersey's government responds on Christmas Eve:

Jersey's government says it is disappointed that Brittany Ferries is challenging its choice of DFDS as its operator.

A hearing was held on the 20 December at Jersey's Royal Court allowing Brittany Ferries to challenge a limited aspect of the decision-making processes by a judicial review.

The States of Jersey emphasise that the Danish firm was chosen after a fair tender process, and it won the bid by a clear margin.

The statement reiterates the service DFDS has committed to, which includes a greater frequency of ferries, faster vessels and new ferries within the next few years.

The States say they are grateful to Condor (now majority-owned by Brittany Ferries) for their service to islanders and say they would prefer the relationship not to have ended this way.