A DEAL should be thrashed out to have just one carrier look after the Channel Islands’ freight, the Deputy Chief Minister has suggested.

Deputy Tom Binet advanced the idea during Thursday night’s Question Time event, which saw Islanders with ever-slimming wallets and charity and business leaders facing difficult questions every day joined by States candidates, charity leaders and students to discuss what measures can be taken to make Jersey more affordable for the people who live there.

On the panel were chief minister Lyndon Farnham and his deputy, health minister Tom Binet, both of whom were joined by Jersey Consumer Council chair Carl Walker and Co-op chief executive Mark Cox.

And in the audience were members of charities and political figures including economic development minister Kirsten Morel, Jersey’s youngest-ever election candidate Gabriel Raimondo, Value Jersey’s Samantha Gleave, and Reform States Member Monty Tadier.

This was not a hustings, ministers and attendees were reminded – and reminded each other multiple times – but it was hard not to hear election pitches in both questions and answers.

Freight – a longstanding factor in the costs incurred by Islanders – was a major theme of the night.

After joint negotiations over the Channel Islands’ key ferry contract collapsed in autumn 2024, Guernsey chose to go it alone and offer a contract to Brittany Ferries, while Jersey chose Danish operator DFDS.

Mr Cox described likened the result to the Island having inflicted “self-harm”.

Deputy Binet said this was “a very, very difficult situation” and that he sympathised with his colleague, Deputy Morel.

However, he said the new contract “effectively put us in a position where we had to either take a very, very big risk on the one side or actually split the Channel and have two boats running up and down the Channel”.

Now, he added, “we’re tied into a 20-year contract”.

“I’m not close to negotiations, but it would be very, very good if we could get the two freight companies into a room and see if we could broker a deal to have one carrier carrying all the Channel Islands’ freight,” the Deputy continued.

“Because if we’re going to exist with Guernsey for 20 years with two half-empty boats… I’ve travelled on DFDS a couple of times and the boat is empty and the staff are walking around doing virtually nothing. It’s a pretty pitiful state of affairs.

“I don’t know if it is possible, but if there is a way of addressing that, that would be a good starting point.”

More coverage to follow in the JEP next week…

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