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Fin and Feather Ltd
23-26 Beresford Market Beresford Street
St Helier
Je2 4wn
Tel 877033
To whom it may concern.
I write in response to your request for information with regard to the Supply Chain of goods entering Jersey.
As I write ,I have been informed that the Commodore Goodwill did not sail from Portsmouth again last night due to inclement weather. As for the parameters with regard to safe wave height I note that the Channel Chieftain is just coming down the small roads toward the pierheads, as she is at best 15m in length. Having spent years at sea as both crew and a passenger I do wonder at times , who actually makes the parameters up?
So it would be informative to discover what are the actual problems with bringing an average sized cargo vessel across the Channel?
Is it the vessel [Goodwill] is not capable, or the insurance is so restrictive with regard operating criteria , or is that they cannot berth safely on arrival in any strong wind ?
A few pertinent questions you would agree ?
In respect of points 1-2 with regard to supply chains, it would be a good idea to consider those questions first ,as everything else is a follow on.
Moving on to
3: it is not viable to have more than one operator on the Northern route, and unlikely to offer reward for another large operator on the Southern due to volume.
4: only barrier is cost ,assuming any new entrant complies will all the relevant requirements in force
5: disruptions – Bad weather- no boats- 20 years ago this rarely if ever happened. Now it's a regular occurrence along with the tidal constraints. Whats changed , other than building the new Harbour in the wrong place. Investigate the reasons for so many cancellations caused by weather and breakdowns and crew time outs
6:YES, letting customers down .loss of sale of the stock
7: odd occasion we have had need, we have always been helped by Ferryspeed and prior to that by Bowmans Haulage
8- duplicated no 6. Of course it does.
9.Freight is not cheap- infrastructure has even more cost attached. Fresh fish requires constant chill facilities- from boat to counter -to customer. The current freight operator [Ferryspeed] has all this in place. Bowmans lost our custom as they could not provide the above. 10- its been raised with previous elected officials
11- as mentioned. Splitting the Northern route between 2 operators would incur a raised cost – same volume of freight – no extra revenue = raised costs for everyone. The current – loud raised voices clamouring for an alternative freight haulier do not actually state what it will mean as it sure will not reduce ours as the Ferryspeed will then need to increase chill freight rates to cover the loss, or if there is another vessel operator the revenue will need to raised somewhere= raised costs . We have seen this before in the last 40 yrs, a few I cannot even remember the names their tenure was so brief.
Yours Faithfully Graham Carver Director