TRIDENT general manager Peter Wilcox is hopeful his company will be granted a licence to run a passenger service between Guernsey and Sark. A review of the application has been completed and now Dr Jonathan Spencer will refer it to Lt-Governor Sir Fabian Malbon for a final decision.
Isle of Sark Shipping has opposed the bid on the grounds that increased competition would destroy the existing service.
Mr Wilcox said he was pleased with how the process had been undertaken.
‘Dr Spencer was well prepared and we appreciate how he has conducted the review. It’s been a very fair process,’ he said.
‘When we first applied, we never expected to get to this point in the first place.
‘I’ve been badgering my father for years about running a service to Sark.
‘Isle of Sark Shipping used to charter one of our vessels but decided to go it alone so the boat was just sitting at the quay doing nothing.
‘We want to encourage more trade and travel between Sark and Guernsey. Granting us a licence would be to the benefit of people from both islands.’
Isle of Sark Shipping advocate Roger Dadd said Trident’s application had not been properly researched and the people of Sark had deep-rooted concerns about it.
He accused Mr Wilcox of not entering into a dialogue with the islanders to find out what they want and warned if Isle of Sark Shipping went out of business, it would not be able to repay £800,000 loaned to it by the States of Guernsey.
If it is granted a licence, Trident plans to build a new 20-metre monohull with a capacity for 100 passengers, especially for the Sark service.
Advocate Gordon Dawes said it was a shame the Sark people seemed unable to accept that this was an application made by the Wilcox family and not the Barclay brothers.
He said increased competition would bring down prices and improve service levels and referred to Trident’s excellent safety and reliability record on its Herm service, which it had run for more than 40 years.
He also said Sark could not expect to own its transport links when ‘propping up’ Isle of Sark Shipping was costing so much money.
Both parties agreed that the current system of licences for operators was out of date and needed updating regardless of the outcome of the application.
Sir Fabian’s decision will be made public on 15 October.
Article posted on 29th September, 2007 - 12.00am
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