From November, Brittany Ferries’ conventional ferry service to Portsmouth will increase from six days a week to daily. The Committee for Economic Development has given inprinciple approval to Brittany Ferries' timetable for winter 2026-27 and summer 2027 (up to 31 October 2027), which will provide Guernsey with a new link from the island to Cherbourg.
The schedule, which comes into effect on 1 November, will see a combination of direct sailings and a new triangular routing via Cherbourg to Portsmouth. Passenger and freight capacity will be maintained, minimum service obligations under the ferry services contract will continue to be met and Guernsey's lifeline connectivity will be protected. The winter timetable is available today for bookings from 01 November 2026 through to 21 March 2027 and the summer schedule will be released on 05 October.
The revised timetable reflects ongoing work as part of the 15-year contract with Brittany Ferries to deliver a resilient and sustainable ferry service for the island. It enables Guernsey’s sea connectivity to consolidate further into the Brittany Ferries’ wider network for the purpose of further strengthening the long-term commercial viability of the route.
Eighteen months into the contract, freight costs are already approximately 14% lower compared to the flat rate in neighbouring jurisdictions. The new consolidation proposals will ensure Islander’s spare capacity is utilised better, which will help reduce the operational costs for Guernsey, keeping freight costs down. It will help future-proof the service to meet the changing market conditions, including the increase in the use of double-decker trailers, which requires lower lane-meter capacity on boats in the future.
The addition of the new Sunday sailing means that freight provision can move to a daily service up from six rotations today. This further strengthens the resilience of Guernsey’s supply-chain, can help retailers reduce food waste, improve shelf-life and better meet peak demand on weekends and festive seasons.
For hauliers, the new link allows seamless access to Brittany Ferries multimodal Cherbourg to Bayonne rail service, opening the door to southwest France and the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to opening up a regular freight service with continental Europe, Cherbourg opens up connectivity to Ireland with Brittany Ferries operating a regular freight service to Rosslare.
The new schedule will also create a new connection of around three and a half hours between Guernsey and Cherbourg for passengers, allowing islanders to travel directly to the Cotentin Peninsula and creating direct tourism links to Normandy, which may be a particular interest ahead of the Year of Normans to be celebrated next year.
Passengers travelling from Guernsey to Portsmouth on sailings routed via Cherbourg will need to carry a valid passport to comply with UK re-entry requirements. The passport requirement only applies to sailings routed via Cherbourg: Wednesday to Sunday in winter and Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday in summer. Direct services to Portsmouth and all sailings from Portsmouth to Guernsey are not affected and in summer increase to four days per week. Passengers arriving in Guernsey from Portsmouth at 04:00 will continue disembarking at 06:00 as they do today.
Both freight and passenger capacity serving Guernsey will remain protected under the contractual arrangements and cannot be displaced by traffic from elsewhere in the network. There is no impact on the schedule or operations of the Voyager travelling between Saint-Malo, Guernsey and Poole.
The schedule and operating arrangements will remain under review to ensure they meet the needs of islanders and businesses and are subject to final border control technical integration.
With Cherbourg added, Guernsey will now offer sea connections with five ports: Portsmouth, Poole, Cherbourg, St Malo and Jersey.
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said:
"We are pleased to approve the release of the Islander schedule as I know that many in the community have been expecting it for a while. There has been a huge amount of technical work between many stakeholders going on behind the scenes to evaluate the new proposals and schedule, some of which is still subject to completion.
The new timetable provides Guernsey with a daily service while maintaining the freight and passenger capacity the island depends on. It is a strategic priority for the Committee to develop longer-term economic resilience and supply-chain diversification. Given the impact of climate change on food security and increasing geo-political instability, we cannot take for granted where our food and essential goods come from and right now nearly 100% of our supply-chain is tied to the UK.
The new schedule creates new opportunities for travel and trade via Cherbourg, such as importing building materials and food. We are already in discussions with a French supermarket. It may also offer a more direct export channel for seafood and other local products, including octopus.
We have an excellent relationship with Brittany Ferries and have worked closely with them on this new schedule. It is important that the organisation develops in a way which is sustainable and competitive. In the short period of operation of our new contract with Brittany Ferries, we have already seen some excellent results both for passengers and tourism as well as freight service delivery and pricing and these proposals are further steps in enabling Guernsey’s sea connectivity resilience and sustainability.”
Christophe Mathieu, Chief Executive of Brittany Ferries said:
“From this winter, Guernsey will have a choice of five destinations by sea with Brittany Ferries: Portsmouth, Poole, Cherbourg, St Malo and Jersey. That means more choice for passengers and more connectivity for freight and logistics, which is good news for islanders, for tourism and for local businesses, especially retailers.
“The new Cherbourg link opens up new horizons. It connects seamlessly with our daily multimodal rail service from Cherbourg to Bayonne, giving unaccompanied hauliers straightforward access to southwest France and the Iberian Peninsula.
“Islanders and businesses need a service they can rely on through the winter, and a regular daily conventional ferry service gives them that resilience. This new timetable brings together our know-how and our long experience of operating triangular routes from the Channel Islands, and it’s a sustainable service that has been made possible by our partnership with the States of Guernsey.”
The winter schedule is available for booking today, online, through travel agents or by calling Brittany Ferries Guernsey contact centre on 0345 609 1026.
