Press Release - Little Ferry Subsidy

Little Ferry wins States subsidy

Alderney's Policy & Finance Committee has renewed its subsidy for The Little Ferry Company at the same level as last year.

But there's a condition - if a new vessel or significant changes are proposed for the Guernsey-Alderney ferry service, P&F will take a fresh look.

The Little Ferry Company is considering a larger vessel for the Guernsey-Alderney route but this would raise marine licensing issues, according to the Surface Transport Action Group which reported to P&F.

Despite many cancellations due to adverse weather conditions last summer, the Little Ferry transported 2,169 passengers from Guernsey to Alderney and a similar number from Alderney to Guernsey between the end of May and end of September. Almost 60% of passengers using the service were visitors to the island.

P&F Members also called for an integrated transport policy and have asked civil servants and transport action groups to begin the groundwork.

The Committee was told that a larger vessel might be able to operate on both an inter-island and a cross-channel basis but there are a number of difficulties facing such a proposal, such as operational regulations for international waters, demand uncertainty and Harbour infrastructure.

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