Traders 'anxious' as first DFDS ferries arrive

Businesses in Jersey have said they are "nervous" as DFDS takes over the island's passenger and freight ferries.

The first DFDS freight ferry, the MV Arrow, arrived at 05:10 GMT as the company's 20-year contract to run services to and from Jersey started.

Florist Jan Ramsay said it had been "extremely stressful" trying to prepare for the new freight service and working out what it was going to be like.

Chris Parker, DFDS's route director for Jersey, said the firm was keen to make sure it gets the freight service right and would be willing to talk to business owners who had concerns.

Ms Ramsay, who owns Oasis Florist in St Brelade, said her business was very reliant on freight services with up to four deliveries a week - and some disruption had already been caused.

"We are very anxious and it's already caused a bit of a problem because we should have had our main deliveries come in on Friday, but we could get no delivery on Friday, so we now have flowers coming on Thursday and Saturday," she said.

"It's our busiest time of the year so it's causing problems, not just for me, but for every florist on the island.

"It's a bit of a drama already."

Fellow florist Marc Simon, who owns Floralies in St Helier, said he relied on a freight boat every morning to deliver fresh flowers from the Netherlands.

Mr Simon said he has been nervous about DFDS taking over freight routes because he did not know what time boats would be arriving until recently.

He said he had his fingers crossed his first delivery from DFDS gets in on Saturday.

"I've had to do a bit of panic buying ahead of Mother's Day, as we've got lots of deliveries to do on Sunday - it's going to be a very busy day," he said.

Flo Aranda, sales director at pub and restaurant company Randalls, said he still does not know what freight fees the firm will be charged.

DFDS said it would be offering a flat rate for businesses to pay for freight services it was running.

Mr Aranda said the rates were among his main concerns with the changeover and there remained a "lot of uncertainty" with how DFDS would operates its services.

"Any change for anyone is quite concerning and a fear of the unknown is always present," he added.

"We're a little bit like that as well but hoping everything will be plain sailing."

Mr Parker said DFDS had been working with logistic companies and retailers across the island to get the freight schedules right.

He said there had been some adjustments to the services in the lead-up to taking over the service, but the company would happily talk to concerned business owners.

"We will work with all of our customers to make sure we get that right in future," he said.

"We are on the first day of a 20-year contract, we are going to work very hard to make sure we get that service right."

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