Harbour crash forces ferry crossing cancellations

A passenger ferry has been damaged after colliding with a harbour berth.

Ferry company DFDS said its Tarifa Jet vessel made contact with Elizabeth Harbour's east berth as it arrived in St Helier on Sunday, which caused damage to the boat's stern.

It said no passengers or crew had been injured but it has had to make a number of changes to its sailing schedule over the coming days.

Officials from DFDS and Ports of Jersey said they were investigating the incident and carrying out inspections of the ferry and the harbour infrastructure.

A DFDS spokesperson said the Stena Vinga would operate the St Malo route on Tuesday, departing St Helier at 06:30 BST, with a return crossing from St Malo at 12:00 local time.

They said Monday night's scheduled departure to Portsmouth and Tuesday morning's return sailing from Portsmouth had been cancelled and Stena Vinga would remain in St Helier overnight.

The spokesperson said the ferry firm recognised passengers would be concerned about their Easter travel plans.

"We are working on contingency arrangements to maintain services, including sourcing an additional relief vessel to support operations over the Easter period," they added.

The spokesperson promised a further update on the Easter weekend schedule "as soon as possible".

A spokesperson for Ports of Jersey said inspections of were under way in the harbour following the incident.

They said: "Specialist teams, including the local dive team and confined space entry team, are carrying out detailed inspections of the east berth linkspan and associated infrastructure."

The Tarifa Jet sails between Jersey, Guernsey and St Malo and can reach a maximum speed of 42 knots (78 km/h).

It is 285ft (86m) long with a beam of 85ft (26m) and it weighs 4,995 tonnes.

The ferry has a capacity of 769 passengers and 145 vehicles.

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.