The agreement, confirmed on December 31, will deploy two high-speed craft, one RoPax ferry, and one RoRo ferry on routes connecting Jersey with Portsmouth, Poole, and France’s St. Malo. The operator projects passenger numbers of 400,000 for the last three quarters of 2025, with tourism accounting for more than half of the traffic.
“We are excited to embark on this journey with Jersey and the local community. The life-line ferry service is a vital link for the island, and we are fully committed to delivering reliability and an enhanced travel and transport experience for islanders, businesses and visitors,” said DFDS CEO Torben Carlsen.
The service will handle substantial freight volumes, particularly between Portsmouth and Jersey, with projections of approximately 450,000 lane metres during the initial nine months of operation. The majority of this freight will consist of unaccompanied trailers.
As part of the agreement, DFDS plans to renew its fleet through the introduction of new vessels between 2030 and 2032. The company expects the operation to generate revenue of around DKK 450 million in its first nine months of service.
Filip Hermann, VP BU Channel & Baltics at DFDS, highlighted the focus on regional connectivity:
“Tourism and hospitality are important parts of the local economy. We will support connectivity with short travel time and meet demand with the right frequency of ferries, providing freight capacity, enabling islanders to travel off-island and attracting more visitors to Jersey.”
The new service, which begins operations on March 28, 2025, adds to DFDS’s existing Channel routes between Dover, Calais, and Dunkirk, and the Newhaven-Dieppe service.