Condor’s plan to resume passenger sailings to France is now under threat after St Malo’s only stevedore company has gone into liquidation.
St Malo Manutention (SMM), which operates all of Condor’s freight and foot passenger baggage services at the port, has a history of persistent strike action. Now, the company has been declared insolvent and will cease operations, causing immediate disruption to Condor’s freight services and throwing this week’s resumed passenger sailings between Jersey and St Malo into doubt.
‘The past few years have seen disruption for our freight customers and passengers, often at very short notice, so it is now very disappointing to learn that SMM, the sole stevedore company in St Malo, is to close,’ said Condor’s Executive Director for Operations, Elwyn Dop.
‘There is an awful irony in that having not been able to operate any high speed passenger services for four months due to Covid, we could conceivably see a resumption from Guernsey and Jersey this summer affected by industrial action in St Malo, causing delays and cancellations.’
Mr Dop said Condor was with liaising other port users, St Malo Port Authority, the Brittany region and the Préfet to find a solution as a matter of urgency.
