The Salty Blonde ferry service The States of Alderney and The Salty Blonde Ltd wish to respond to ill-informed and at times unfairly critical comment on social media platforms about the provision of a ferry service to and from Guernsey. In making its recommendation to the Policy & Finance Committee, the Economic Development Committee (EDC) recognised the Salty Blonde initiative is driven primarily by a sense of community support rather than strictly commercial considerations. This is illustrated in a comment from Tracey Farquhar-Beck, Group Director for The Salty Blonde Ltd: "We put together a proposal for a ferry service from a small operation we already had running. This ferry schedule is highly unlikely to make any profit but will offer a service to the island. With a subsidy from the States of Alderney, we could lower the ticket price from £50pp to £40pp but even then, with all costs increasing rapidly, it will be tough. We are employing four local people, bringing in more tourists and giving Alderney residents another means of transportation to leave the island - a circular economy." Furthermore, if The Salty Blonde Ltd had not tendered for the subsidy, there would be no States-supported service this year. At the time of making the decision, there were three applicants; two other companies had withdrawn at an earlier stage. Each business model was compared against a range of factors including economic expectations and funding requirements. Following evaluation by the EDC, The Salty Blonde was chosen as the only viable option when all these factors were taken into consideration. We were therefore very happy to agree a contract with The Salty Blonde to provide continuity in our seasonal service. Without this proposal, we would have no certainty of a regular service this year. A positive return on our subsidy investment in previous years has been demonstrated based on collected data on party size, length of stay and spend on-Island by visitors. Of particular importance are those visitors who would not have travelled to Alderney if there were no ferry service. We are aware that this economic benefit to the Island is dependent on weather conditions. It is important to note that The Salty Blonde is a Storm Force RIB which could enable a full seasonal service for the island with two or even three rotations per day between April and December. The subsidy is based on volumes and the total payable will be dependent on successfully completed rotations. The States took a decision to support a seasonal ferry a few years ago to attract visitors to the Island who would bring economic benefit. The rationale for this remains the same and our forecasts anticipate that the economic benefit of our subsidy in 2022 may be greater than previous years despite the smaller vessel. The service offers two rotations per day, six times per week, and possibly an extra sailing during the height of the season, with the contract scheduled to run until December 31st. By way of clarification, there were no bids received for a larger ferry to run a daily service. However, if there had been the States would have been very careful not to significantly undermine demand for its year-round, lifeline air services operated under a Public Service Obligation since the start of 2021. One of the States' top social and economic priorities is the protection of Alderney's lifeline year-round air services, and the establishment of a period of certainty with such services. This has now been achieved in the short term (five years) through a Public Services Obligation (PSO), which also seeks to maintain the financial security of the PSO. Given the significant levels of annual subsidy involved (up to £2 million per annum), the parties (the States in both Islands, and Aurigny as the provider) are working collaboratively to find a solution that enables Alderney's air services to be provided in such a way as to provide the operational needs in a financially sustainable manner. Arrangements for the PSO on both the ACI-GCI and ACI-SOU routes have now been concluded, and a contract signed for the period of five years to the end of 2025, but as Members of the Community are aware the work continues to find long-term security for the lifeline air services, and an important part of this must be making the air links more financially sustainable so that the cost to the taxpayer of the annual subsidy significantly reduces. To book tickets in advance go to www.thesaltyblonde.gg/schedule and follow the booking notes. Alternatively, visit the booking office at The Butchers General Store on Victoria Street, open Tuesday to Saturday 9am-2pm. Ends |