Collas Crill has advised Condor Ferries in respect of its acquisition of a new vessel, the Austal 102, and its discussions with the States of Jersey over a long-term agreement to operate the vessel to and from Jersey.
Following its entry into the new operating agreement, which allows Condor to sail to and from the Channel Islands, the UK and France until 2024, Condor has announced a £50 million investment in a new car ferry which will start operating on Channel Island sea routes during the first half of 2015. The new agreement follows the announcement made by Senator Alan MacLean, Economic Development Minister on 15 July regarding Jersey's long term sea transport requirements.
Over the past year a pan-Island team from Collas Crill, led by Rosie Stott in Jersey and Wayne Atkinson in Guernsey, has provided corporate, finance, competition and regulatory advice to Condor to secure the new vessel and an agreement with the States of Jersey to provide combined freight, car and passenger ferry services. Work is continuing in relation to similar arrangements with the States of Guernsey.
"The complexity and novel nature of the matter meant that we were called upon to give very detailed bespoke Jersey and Guernsey advice in a number of areas," said lead lawyer Rosie Stott.
"We believe that the introduction of the new vessel will deliver long-term certainty to the Channel Islands regarding such essential matters as freight supplies and all-weather passenger services and we are extremely proud to be have been involved in something that is so crucial to our islands as a whole."
