JERSEY will be without any ferry link to France until next Friday when Condor Ferries start what will initially be a weekends-only service.

Emeraude Lines flagship Solidor V made her last scheduled journey until 12 February on Wednesday night but there are some doubts as to whether she will return to the route by that date, according to French press reports.The owners of Solidor V are claiming that they should be paid 14.8m euros by Sogestran – the new owners of Emeraude Lines – for the vessel, whereas the court administrators appointed to handle the affairs of the company that formerly owned the shipping company had assessed the value of the vessel at 10m eurosThe French press reports suggest Solidor V’s return to service could be delayed because the 500,000 euros cost of the dry dock work due to be undertaken may not happen unless the owners of the vessel make some sort of advance payment as suggested by the court administrators.Meanwhile, the new Condor service that starts next week will initially run from Fridays to Mondays with further services being introduced on Wednesdays during February.

The Condor service will allow Islanders to take weekend breaks to France and is bound to appeal to people who own homes in France.