When DFDS took over ferry services to Jersey at the end of March, COMMODORE GOODWILL became surplus to requirements. In face, the vessel had been put up for sale in February this year for an asking price of EUR 14 million. It is not yet known what price DFDS has aid for the vessel.
Since DFDS took over ferry services in and out of Jersey from the UK and France (Saint Malo), the company has had on long-term charter the 1,050-lanemetre capacity ARROW from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co.
COMMODORE GOODWILL, which has been laid-up in Le Havre since sailing empty from Portsmouth on 28 March, will now undergo drydocking before entering service between Portsmouth, Jersey and Saint Malo renamed CAESAREA TRADER, under the British Red Ensign. Caesarea is the old Roman name for Jersey and back in the day British Rail had a ferry of the same name that operated from Weymouth to the Channel Islands in the early 1960s.
DFDS’ Chris Parker went on to say: “We are working hard to get GOODWILL ready for service and in the meantime the ARROW and her crew will continue to provide an excellent service for the island.”
He went on to say that the acquisition of the freight ro-ro does not change DFDS’ plans for new vessels to serve Jersey, including a new freight ro-ro.
Meanwhile, Condor’s two other vessels, the high-speed craft CONDOR LIBERATION and the ro-pax ferry COMMODORE CLIPPER, are still on the market. The price for the catamaran CONDOR LIBERATION, currently laid-up in Le Havre, is EUR 24 million, while COMMODORE CLIPPER is listed for sale with the notation “price on request.”
© Shippax