All HD Ferries sailings suspended - now restarted but monitored

Ally · 08-04-2007, 09:48 AM

All HD Ferries sailings have been suspended and the HD1 has been confined to port in Jersey, following an inspection by the port state control.

It was hoped the ferry would sail this weekend, but the ramp permit issued to HD Ferries has been suspended.

The permit will not be reinstated until the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Jersey Harbours are satisfied that certain issues have been addressed.

HD Ferries have so far been unavailable for comment.

The ferry has been out of action since it hit a Condor ferry last Saturday.

Although the structural damage to the ship is being repaired, Jersey Harbours say there are issues with the certification of the crew.

The ship's manager, Northern Marine, has also been unavailable for comment.

Ally · 08-04-2007, 04:20 PM

Company statement (bi-lingual) on their website reads....

Quote:

Latest Sailings Update: Saturday 04 August at 1320.

Unfortunately all sailings of the HD1 have been cancelled for today, Saturday 4th August. This is due to the re-inspection not being completed last tonight. Re-inspection has resumed again today.

We are continuing to work closely with Jersey Harbours to resolve these problems and will update this website with more information as we receive it. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience and hope to have firmer information for you at about 1600.

All customers affected are being given a full refund.

Please note the phone lines are extremely busy at present. Therefore we recommend all customers calling regarding a refund to instead send an email to mail@hdferries.com so we can process it more efficiently.

All car p***engers are requested to check-in 1 hour before departure time
and foot p***engers 45 minutes beforehand. This will prevent long queues at the port.

Infos Trafic du Samedi 04 Aout a 14:20 (heure francaise)

Nous avons le regret de vous informer que toutes les traversées de HD1 sont annulées pour le Samedi 4 Août. La ré-inspection du navire qui a débuté vendredi soir est toujours en cours.

Nous continuons de travailler en étroite collaboration avec Jersey Harbours pour résoudre les problèmes et nous mettrons à jour le site vers 1700 (heure francaise) cet apres midi ou dès que nous aurons plus d'informations à vous communiquer.

Nous vous présentons toutes nos excuses pour les désagréments causés et tous les clients affectés sont en train d'être contactés pour être remboursés.

Nos lignes téléphoniques sont engorgées pour l'instant. Nous recommandons aux clients qui souhaitent un remboursement d'envoyer leur demande de remboursement par email à: mail@hdferries.com afin d'accélérer les choses.

Nous demandons à tous nos p***agers voyageant avec un véhicule de bien vouloir se présenter au port au moins 1 heure avant le départ, et les p***agers piétons au moins 45 minutes avant le départ, afin d'éviter de longues files d'attente au port. Nous souhaitons une agréable traversée à tous nos clients.

Ally · 08-04-2007, 07:11 PM

**Update**

Jersey's harbourmaster has spoken out after the announcement that all HD Ferries services have been suspended following an inspection.

Captain Howard Le Cornu said: "Nothing could have been done to avoid inconveniencing p***engers."

The permit for HD Ferries will not be reinstated until the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Harbours are satisfied issues have been addressed.

HD Ferries hope to make a statement after a meeting on Saturday.

The HD1 has been confined to port in Jersey, following an inspection by the port state control.

It was hoped the ferry would sail this weekend, but the ramp permit issued to HD Ferries has been suspended.

The ferry has been out of action since it hit a Condor ferry 28 July.

Although the structural damage to the ship is being repaired, Jersey Harbours say there are also issues with the certification of the crew.

The ship's manager, Northern Marine, has been unavailable for comment.

(BBC)

Ally · 08-05-2007, 12:35 PM

**Update**

HD Ferries has begun operating again from Jersey after having its ramp permit suspended last week.

The permit for HD Ferries was revoked following an inspection on Thursday. Staff worked late on both Friday and Saturday to correct problems.

Jersey Harbours confirmed on Saturday night that the ferry HD1 could sail again, with the first departure due as usual at 0715 BST on Sunday.

The Harbour authorities will monitor the ferry to ensure it operates safely.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, along with Harbours, said the permit would not be reissued until officials were satisfied all issues had been addressed.