New ferries, quicker crossings and cheaper fares – that is what Vectis Ferries say they would provide the Isle of Wight as they call for urgent Government engagement on the future of troubled ferry firm, Red Funnel.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the locally-led consortium has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander MP, to call for Government engagement on the future of the Southampton-based company.
It was back in September that the cross-Solent operator agreed a sale to investment manager Njord Partners after a protracted procurement process, but that is currently being reviewed by the Government under the National Security Act. Many people, including Island MPs Joe Robertson and Richard Quigley, expressed their concern with the decision to sell to a private equity group in the days that followed.
Vectis Ferries, which pledged to invest more than £100million into the service, believed their place in the process was simply used to justify taking a higher price from another bidder.
More than a month on, Island Echo has this week sat down with 3 of Vectis Ferries’ directors – Kevin George, Peter Morton MBE and Patrick Seely – to shed some light on the proposed plans.
In short, Vectis would operate from a new landing site on the mainland, allowing a shorter, 30-minute service with lighter, next-generation aluminium boats. A ‘no thrills’ service would keep costs down.
Why was Vectis Ferries the best option for the Isle of Wight?
“We want to transform ferry services across the Solent, but to do that there a few things that need to be done. That’s a mixture of building new ferries and investing in new shoreside infrastructure, and so we have developed a plan.
Article continues below this advertisement “A new landing site on the mainland would allow us to have a shorter service which is 30-minutes instead of 1 hour. The next thing we would do is build light, next generation aluminium boats. In places like Scandinavia, they have moved toward lighter and more efficient ferries, the UK has for long been rather conservative in the regard.
“Fuel usage is very simple. If you build a lighter and more efficient ferry, you use less fuel and if you use less fuel you can keep your costs down and therefore reduce the cost for the consumer. The ferries that we are looking at to replace the existing Raptor class ferries, could reduce fuel usage by as much as 70%.
“The plan is driven around the use of technology, is far more efficient and would provide better customer service.
“What the Island needs is a ferry service that is the least cost of operation. What we would describe as a ‘no-thrills’ type ferry service.”
How long would it take to implement the proposed changes to the shoreside and on-water infrastructure?
“It is very important that everyone understands that scale at what is being contemplated here, whether we – or anyone else – does it, things have to move and change from where they are.
“What we have done is we have optimised that process, but it is a big job and it requires a lot of expertise to do that and what I think is really think is unique about our proposal is that we have the skills to build these fast ferries here on the Isle of Wight (at Wight Shipyard). We have got those unique skills and it would be a tragedy if we don’t use them.
“If we could do things efficiently and quickly, we are talking at a 5-year programme, but to get to the other side of things we are looking at a major investment.”
Why are you writing to the Government, and why is now the time for change?
“There is a real danger that we miss this moment. A moment to optimise and get the best solution for the Island. We have a plan that we think we can execute and it would get to the Island sooner than anyone else and so we don’t want to miss that opportunity.
“We don’t believe there is time to wait for Njord to work out what they want to do.
“Without new ships and new shoreside, all the things that are concerning the Island cannot be delivered.”
What do you have to say to Islanders who have endured cross-Solent travel misery for so long?
“We live here, we know the pain and we know how critical the service is. We need to turn that round and make it more Island-centric, its now all about operating ships and not about the Island and its not about customers.
“If you make it more connected and offer it at a lower, less complicated, price then you will reconnect the Island with the mainland and you will build that economic activity again.”
The consortium includes Kevin George, former Chief Executive of Red Funnel, and Graham Barnetson, the ferry firm’s former Chief Financial Officer. They are joined by former non-executive director Patrick Seely, Wight Shipyard’s founder Peter Morton MBE, and shipping industry consultant and turnaround specialist, James Walton.
Support has also been shown for the efforts of the Island’s MPs to introduce a statutory governance framework to oversee lifeline ferry services.
Vectis Ferries await a reply from The Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP.
That was very difficult to read because of dodgy punctuation and incorrect words in places, Hopefully their business plan is proof read.
and how many staff do they need? Its all well and good talking up fuel cost savings, but what of ongoing daily costs. Onboard captain, engineer, 2 x crew, plus additional staff to cover annual leave, as well as staffing beyond a 40 hour a week operation. Then there is the shoreside staff at both terminals, check in, ticket sales, berthing, cleaners, leave cover. Then what about maintenance, removing a boat for refit/major work, compliance, spares, repairs and the big ones – Taxes, NI, pensions, insurance. All of this costs and if you think you can run a ferry cheaply and cover all the above costs, then your passenger numbers will need to be massive.
To be a realistic alternative to RF/WL you probably need at least 50 staff to run a bare bones operation like this. You won’t get captains for less than £60k a year. Even if everyone was on minimum wage and 40hr week, that is £1.2 million a year in salaries, plus employer NI/Tax on top, as well as pension contributions for 50 staff
the boats need to be big enough to withstand the solent weather conditions – what will their operating limits be. People wont use it, if the boat is too small and gets thrown around
how are you getting the cash – do you have a £100 million lying around, or as I suspect, you will be borrowing it and using the same model as WL/RF
even if the total running costs were £2 million a year and they won’t be that low, you still need about 550 passengers a day, paying £10 return to cover it.
where then does the free cashflow come from to cover the future maintenance costs – boats are money pits. Higher ticket prices, thats where
They could always start their own company