Brittany Ferries is to increase sailings on the English Channel when the fast-craft Condor Liberation returns to operating at weekends throughout the summer on the Portsmouth-Cherbourg and Cherbourg-Poole routes.

The fastcraft's sailing schedule sees Condor Liberation depart Portsmouth at 07:00 and arrive at Cherbourg (Normandy) at 11:00, that's just 180 minutes. The return sailing from Cherbourg is at 11:45 and arrives at Poole at 13:15. Noting, all times shown are local.

The service which welcomes passengers travelling on car and on foot will operate on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the school holiday periods of 14th July – 3rd September 2023.

The fast service will complement Brittany Ferries’ conventional cruise-ferry routes to Cherbourg from Poole and Portsmouth, and passengers can mix and match routes, sailing out to France by fast ferry and returning by cruise-ferry or vice-versa.

Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries said:“We’re delighted to bring even more choice and flexibility for our customers crossing the western Channel this summer.

“These fast sailings will complement our conventional cruise-ferry services operated by Barfleur on the Poole-Cherbourg route, and our overnight sailings from Portsmouth to Cherbourg with our latest ships Galicia and Salamanca. Across our route network this summer customers will now be able to choose from up to 130 departures a week.”

Condor Liberation carries 850 passengers and 235 cars, crossing the English Channel at speeds of up to 42 knots (48 miles per hour) making it the fastest ferry currently sailing the English Channel.

The Condor Liberation adds Afloat is the only fast-ferry on English Channel routes directly connecting Britain and mainland Europe, however fleetmates of the craft operating for Condor Ferries run high-speed sailings linking UK-France via the Channel Islands.

As Afloat reported in 2019, Brittany Ferries acquired a 25% stake in Condor Ferries which is also owned by Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Four years previously, the trimaran Condor Liberation made its maiden voyage from Poole to the Channel Islands. 

On board the Condor Liberation comes a wide range of facilities as standard. The craft offers several spacious open seating lounges and there is for an extra fee, a Club Lounge offers luxurious reclining seats, free Wi-Fi and complimentary hot drinks.

In addition facilities include an extensive duty-free shop, bistro café and bars.

In January 2023, Brittany Ferries will mark 50 years since the first-ever ferry crossing on the English Channel took place by the operator when linking the French region and Cornwall.

A converted Israeli tank-carrier, Kerisnel departed Roscoff in Brittany, bound for Plymouth carrying a cargo of cauliflowers and cognac. The vessel arrived in Millbay Docks, Plymouth on 2 January 1973, the day after Britain had joined the common market (forerunner to the EU).

Within a few years the company had opened more routes with better ships and introduced sail-and-stay holidays for its biggest export market: British tourists which today, comprise around 90% of all passengers on board.

Brittany Ferries is preparing the 50th anniversary celebration for 2 January 2023, with Plymouth at its heart. Twinning committees representing towns, villages and communes from across Brittany have been invited to travel to Plymouth on the company’s flagship Pont-Aven which has been specially re-routed for the celebratory voyage.

They will be met in Millbay Docks by their twin-town counterparts from towns in the south west of England and Wales, as well as the great and good of Britain’s Ocean City. An afternoon reception and gala dinner on board will follow.

“Since our first sailing, Brittany Ferries aim has been to enrich regions by connecting people and boosting trade,” said Christophe Mathieu CEO Brittany Ferries. “This special anniversary event will help reinforce those links – and reconnect those who have been separated for too long by Covid and Brexit. We want to strengthen the entente cordiale between people who are closer to each other culturally and geographically, than they are to centres of power in Paris and London.”

Entertainment at the event will come courtesy of Breton folk band Dremmwel. Their music has been the soundtrack to the start of a holiday for an estimated 24.6 million passengers. That’s because music from the four-piece has been used as wake-up tunes in cabins on board most ships since 2009.

“Dremmwel’s songs must be among some of the best-known in Britain,” added Mathieu. “Few may know the men behind the music, but everyone who travels with us know what their songs signify: they say wake-up holiday maker, you have arrived at your destination.”

Members of twinning committees in the southwest should have received an invitation to the event. However, not all have easily accessible contact details. So today, Brittany Ferries calls on those who have not received an invitation to get in contact with event organisers, by emailing the following address: [email protected]

London Medway, part of the Peel Ports Group, has had its busiest ever month for unaccompanied freight using a cargo only ro-ro ferry service between the UK and France.

The Sheerness-Calais service which is run by DFDS (also Rosslare Europort-Dunkirk) has carried more than 3,981 trailers on its vessels across the channel in April 2022.

Unaccompanied freight, (trailers and containers shipped without a driver), is seen by some in the industry as a major way of overcoming challenges with customs delays, driver shortages and storage.

The dedicated vessel for this route, the M/V Botnia Seaways, operates between Sheerness and Calais.  

The route was first introduced in June 2021 to expand DFDS’ existing network of services between the UK and Europe and came in response to the growing demand for unaccompanied freight services from cargo owners, hauliers and shipping lines.

Richard Goffin, Port Director, South East Ports Cluster at Peel Ports said: “These record-breaking achievements are a true testament to the increasing capabilities and efficiencies of our operations at London Medway, as well as our outstanding team without which this wouldn’t have been possible.

“We have invested heavily into our port estate recently, improving resiliency and capacity, providing a more attractive UK entry point over other southern ports.

“Our dedicated RoRo facilities, location and accessibility provide significant benefits for our customers, including DFDS."

“The success of the M/V Botnia Seaways vessel and the wider partnership demonstrates how London Medway is going from strength to strength and is a strong indication for our future success.”

The ports' group also operates the Port of Liverpool where Afloat has a story on educational inclusion for students across the city.