New Condor ferry for St Malo route
Monday 29th March 2010, 2:58PM BST.
The former Royal Australian Navy troop transportation ship, HMAS Jervis Bay, will enter service on the Jersey-St Malo route as the Condor Rapide within the next two months
CONDOR Ferries is to increase passenger capacity between Jersey and France after buying a new multi-million-pound vessel.
The new ship, to be called Condor Rapide, will replace the Condor 10 on the popular route between the Island and St Malo.
The Rapide will be able to carry up to 750 passengers and 170 cars – far more than the Condor 10, which can carry about 500 passengers and 60 cars.
The ship previously operated in Australia and the English Channel, and also worked as a troop transportation vessel for the Royal Australian Navy when she was known as HMAS Jervis Bay.
The old Condor 10, bought by the ferry operator in 2002, will now be sold.
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Well Well Well, a new multi Million pound new boat, that will take more cars and passengers.
Question does this mean they will have more fast ferry services to England over the holiday period……
I found out a couple of weeks ago it is cheaper to go from France to England than it is to go from Jersey to England. How does that work beacause last time I looked France was further than Jersey to England.
Can you expalin this one Condor ???????
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So does this mean higher prices to pay for the vessel??
Wouldn’t be surprised…
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will that decrease the price of the tickets?
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I hope they change the colour so we can see it coming.
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WELL DONE CONDOR. This is great news and hopefully will see better performance all round on both routes.
Why can’t we for once be pleased to see something positive in this move instead of the normal “knocking” of the company. This is a company prepared to invest heavily in Jersey during a recession to give us a better quality service and all we can do is react by finding fault.
I would love to see the prices come down but most of the problem is down to our Government and the Harbours Department charging ever increasing landing fees – I’m surprised any company wants to do business in Jersey faced with that challenge.
Competition might bring the prices down for a short while but as we already know this lasts for one season then one company goes bust and the prices rise again. Condor have been in Jersey for decades so lets support them positively and welcome their investment. I have travelled with Condor for years and have been let down on occasions but they have always dealt with us fairly and professionally and when I have had problems with a need to change travel arrangements they have always been very helpful.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK CONDOR
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In the proper use of the word “new” this vessel does not qualify.The only “new” thing about it is it being used here! Incidentally,just how old is it?? Talking of multi million pound investment, there will be the sale proceeds to offset some of this,so, even though this is a welcome step,let’s not get too carried away. This replacement must be an economical improvement for Condor so let us hope they share some of the benefits by reducing the high fare levels charged to Jersey users.
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We live on a island so are bound to be ripped off high prices are the norm with condor.
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Gosh a whole new shiny boat. With a bigger capacity… now all they have to do is reduce there ticket prices and throw in the occasional special deal and the vast majority of us will be able to afford to use the service.
Having looked many times at the cost of using the ferry to mainland europe or even the odd return to the UK i’ve often been disgusted by the pure expense of crossing that thin strip of water between here and france. £300+ to get away for the weekend with the car, its fustrating to say the least, not that its any cheaper to buy anything in france with the exchange rates but it is nice to be able to jump on a french motorway and go visit a place.
Same with going to the UK to visit family and friends, if i get the ferry i can use my own car, no need for someone to meet me at an airport, no expensive and boring train journeys between hard to get too places, no having to hire an even more expensive car to give fredom and flexibilty.
Come on Condor, you got yourself a new boat now make us paying passengers happy and cut your 2+ car prices aswell.
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#7 Paul, I have to disagree with you on this. If you use book a car using the Jersey promotions option on Condor we managed a 3 day away trip for £200 including car and two passengers. This works out cheaper than flying there and bike and car hire. Condor are trying..
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Condor – don’t sell Condor 10, please use it for intra-islands travel if possible.
My in-laws are coming to Jersey today, and I would have loved to take them to Guernsey for the day over the Easter weekend. But could I? Well, I could, but the only boat left at 1.30PM, got in at 2.30PM and then left back to Jersey at 5.30PM. With a one hour check in – that would leave me with just two hours in our sister island.
Condor shold be promoting tourism between the islands – Condor 10 could have been that opportunity.
Well done on the new boat. I am not Condor’s greatest fan, but this goes some way to increasing their image. I received a promotional leaflet in the post today, I think it was about £70 return – keep those prices Condor and we’ll all start loving you (again).
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#9 Tosh, i know that there are promotions which allow people to take a car over for less but these tend to be focused around mid-week and really tie you in for 3-days away, but if you compare these offers to those enjoyed by those people travelling between the mainland and france we are still getting a duff deal.
If i was paying even a £100 for 2 adults and a car to travel to france for a weekend i’d be going ever couple of months. Surely they can see the sense of offering island dwellers a better deal, especially during the quieter months when they are running nearly empty boats between the islands and the mainland
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Mike(6) ship was built in 1999 its same model as the other ships. Used to belong to Speedferries on Dover- france route as speed 1 before they went bustand was laid up to rot for many months before aussie army bought it and used in the east timor conflicts, also done a stint on Italy -Croatia route and left for months to rot again.
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# 12 Thanks for info. Journalistic licence “rules the waves”then,as I thought!!
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So Condor’s boat is now exactly new, is it. However, any increased capacity for car traffic is most welcome, if it results in some extra business, such as day returns for 4 plus car for £100
Lets wait and see !
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