Condor Ferries apologises for ‘very disappointing’ launch

Condor Ferries has written an open letter of apology to customers following the debacle surrounding the launch of its latest fast ferry, Condor Liberation, which led to it being swamped with calls from inconvenienced passengers.

The letter by executive chairman Russell Kew, which has been published on the Condor Ferries website, apologises to those who were delayed, diverted and had journeys between Poole and the Channel Island disrupted over the past two weeks.

The £50 million ‘state of the art’ ferry was damaged on the first day she came into service in late March when berthing in St Peter Port in Guernsey in strong winds, she landed heavily against the fendering, damaging her protective belting.

Kew admitted that not only did this cause inconvenience to passengers who suffered long delays, but they were also let down by poor communication from the company.

Passengers were further inconvenienced over the following days when poor weather meant Condor was forced to cancel sailings from Poole to the Channel Islands.

Strong wind and heavy rain delayed repairs to Liberation, which did not re-enter service until Easter Sunday.

"It was unimaginable bad fortune that Condor Liberation then developed an electrical fault the next day," wrote Kew.

The fault was repaired but as a precautionary measure the Liberation sailed more slowly, meaning timetables had to be adjusted. It then re-occurred mid-crossing from Poole two days later, causing further inconvenience.

"The most important thing I can say is sorry; sorry to those customers who were delayed, diverted and had journeys disrupted, and sorry to their families, friends and colleagues who also experienced inconvenience and disappointment; sorry that many of you felt you didn’t get the right information at the right time, and of course, sorry to all our customers who were so looking forward to sailing on Condor Liberation, and haven’t yet had the opportunity to do so," wrote Kew.

"No-one is more disappointed than us that the first two weeks of Condor Liberation’s time with us has been affected by the combination of the berthing incident, bad weather and the electrical fault. It is particularly saddening after the wonderful welcome which she received in the Islands for the open days and ceremonial naming event last month."

He acknowledged that the inconvenience passengers suffered was compounded by frustration at a lack of timely information at critical times. Its call centre has taken over 8000 calls in two weeks. While Kew said the average call wait time was four minutes, many customers had to wait longer.

"I offer them my sincere apologies," he said. "We are looking into how we can build more resource in this area."

He urged passengers to provide a mobile phone number with their booking so they could receive a text message regarding any changes.

For the time being, those with complaints will have to wait more than 72 hours for a response, but Kew promised the company would honour its obligations to compensate passengers under the EU Directive, regardless of whether they were UK or Channel Islands-based.

He also paid tribute to the Condor staff who have, he said, worked hard ‘to get customers where they need to be’.

"It is clearly taking some time for us to settle Condor Liberation into service and, looking ahead, I can’t promise that the weather will always be calm, or that there won’t be any technical issues. However, I can promise that we will always work tirelessly to keep our Islands connected and supplied, and to do our very best to look after you, our valued customers."

Kew said that heavy weather trials later this year should allow it to operate Liberation in heavier seas than those allowed for its old 86m ferries, but for the time being she operates under the standard limitations for fast ferries in UK waters.

You can read Condor’s full apology here.