The Scilly Ferries service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly is no more. It was scrapped by parent company Harland & Wolff (H&W) before the bright yellow and black catamaran had its maiden voyage.
As the boat, which is understood to have cost £15m, remains in the quay in Newlyn harbour until it is returned to its builder shipyard in Holland, we look back at the saga behind what was supposed to be the breaker of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's monopoly.
The service between mainland Cornwall and St Mary's is currently uniquely operated by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (ISSG) which runs the Scillonian III passenger ferry, the freight boat to the archipelago, and the Skybus plane service which runs from Land's End to St Mary's airport.
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April 2023 - plans mooted
The H&W saga started back in April last year when the Belfast-based shipbuilder's then CEO John Wood announced his vision to muscle in on the Isles of Scilly trade.
The company which operates the Appledore yard in North Devon and built the Titanic, announced proposals to build and operate two ferries - The Pride of St Mary's passenger ferry and the Pride of Penzance freight boat.
It said then that both ships could operate on the Penzance to Isles of Scilly ferry route from as soon as spring 2025.
Read our full story here.
September 2023 - faster, cheaper and more comfortable
Rival ferry service wannabe Harland & Wolff announced that its own service would be more comfortable, faster and cheaper than the Scillonian III.
When the weather gets rough the crossing to the Isles of Scilly on the Scillonian III is known to be on the uncomfortable side. But H&W said its new boat would ensure holidaymakers and islanders would get there and back in one hour less than the current two-and-a-half-hour journey, in greater comfort and would not cost so much.
At the time, former CEO John Wood told ITV News West Country: “We’ve already started the licensing application process and regulatory approval, to try and get a fast ferry onto the route for next summer. The point of that is to get 600 people on and off the island a day to improve that capacity and give passengers an option.
"We will look at the price and plan to charge between 20 and 25 per cent less. We've had some horror stories already of people not being able to leave the island, family members not being able to visit just because they simply can't afford to."
Read our full story here.
November 2023 - Take over attempt
A few weeks before last Christmas it was revealed how Harland & Wolff, with its plans to break up the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's monopoly to the islands, tried to take over the company.
Back then the ISSG confirmed it had received a take-over offer from Belfast-based H&W - which they promptly turned down.
On November 23, ISSG quashed rumours of a takeover by H&W saying that while it had received an offer for the whole business from the now embattled shipbuilder, it had "unequivocally rejected" it as "the board of the company does not believe that the approach from H&W is in the best interests of the company’s shareholders".
Read our full story here.
December 2023 - Rival steps in to save Christmas
The ferry war between historic operator ISSG and H&W took an unfestive turn when the former boss of the Belfast shipbuilder took pot shots at its rival when its freight boat suffered a mechanical fault days before Christmas.
The ISSG ran into trouble on Friday, December 22, when its freight ship the Gry Maritha suffered an engine failure 20 minutes out of Penzance and was forced to return to its harbour base with only one engine working.
At the time, the firm said the fault had been identified and said the repair would require the failed engine to be swapped out and replaced. The engine failure led to the day's freight service to be cancelled with the ISSG insisting it was "exploring options for transporting the urgent chilled foods across over the weekend".
H&W's former CEO John Wood did not take long to have a dig at its rivals announcing that H&W would step in to save islanders' Christmas - for free. In a post on the Isles of Scilly Notice Board Facebook page, he said: "We have been monitoring the unfortunate situation with the freight vessel that was due to bring urgent supplies over to Islands this afternoon (Friday December 22).
"It is an unfortunate situation and difficult to deal with at this late stage with everyone shutting down for Christmas, but we are looking at all options. Harland and Wolff, utilising the KMS vessel Terramar will provide a free emergency freight service to St Mary’s tomorrow for any emergency items and food required for Christmas."
He even posted a picture of the ship loaded with kegs of beer destined for the pubs on the Isles of Scilly ahead of Christmas.
The ISSG was left unimpressed with H&W's 'heroics', and even took a dig at its wannabe rivals on its own website, saying: "We would also like to take this opportunity to remind customers that our travel updates are only ever posted through our official channels. We don't conduct our business over social media unless it is an official post. Anyone commenting or giving updates on our operations, who are not employees of ISSG, should be ignored."
Read our full story here.
January 2024 - new Scillonian IV deal signed
A replacement ferry service to the Isles of Scilly took a step closer to becoming a reality when in January this year ISSG announced it had finalised a construction deal with a French shipyard to build a new vessel. The ISSG announced it had signed contracts with shipbuilder Piriou to build the Scillonian IV passenger ferry as well as a new freight ship.
The historic operator between Penzance and St Mary's said the deal will secure the long-term future of passenger travel and freight supplies to and from the islands. ISSG said finalising the deal with Piriou will mean the new Scillonian IV ship should come into service in 2026. The company said the new ship will be faster, more comfortable and more environmentally sustainable than the present Scillonian III. In April the ISSG announced it had secured a £33.6m loan from private asset finance provider Lombard to fund its own plans.
At the time, Stuart Reid, CEO of ISSG said: "Our vessel project team and partners have been working very hard to put in place the final elements of a long-term plan which commenced in 2019. Signing these contracts allows us to provide a strong and sustainable solution that meets the travel and freight requirements of the Isles of Scilly for generations to come."
Read our full story here.
March 2024 - Fast ferry to Isles of Scilly ready to start in May
This is when the first announcement was made that the promised new fast ferry service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly would start.
At the time, the now resigned John Wood announced that the firm's ferry vessel - named Atlantic Wolff by Year 7 pupils at the Five Islands Academy - was on her way from her shipyard to the UK where she would be prepared and branded ahead of entering service in May.
Read our report here.
March - Ferry company under fire for taking £42 million contract to Vietnam
The Scillonian III owners ISSG came under fire for opting to have its new Scillonian IV ferry made by a French company at a yard in Vietnam. GMB Union, a general trade union that represents workers, said it was "outraged" that the £42 million contract wasn't given to a UK company.
They called the news an "absolute scandal", blasting the group for not sharing the job with the local community "that needs the work".
You can read our full story here.
May - The first delays
In March, Harland & Wolff announced that its new fast ferry running from Penzance to St Mary's would start in May in a bid to compete against the Scillonian III as soon as possible and ahead of the tourist season. However April and May came and went and so did the first delays.
At the time, Mr Wood said: "We had selected another vessel but with the conflict in the Middle East it proved impossible to get the vessel back within our timescales. We share the ambition to get the service going as soon as possible and are pushing as hard as we can to make that happen, working closely with the regulatory authorities."
Read our full story here.
June - more delays because of the rain
H&W former boss John Wood announced on the Scilly Ferries Facebook page that the new vessel, while in the UK in Portsmouth, would not sail on time because the rain had hampered the paint job.
At the time he said: "Unfortunately, the torrential downpours we have been experiencing over the past few weeks have been very unkind to us with the majority of our efforts being hampered by rain. With the specialist paint coatings we have been applying, it is critical that the correct level of humidity exists, and unfortunately over the past few weeks, the conditions have been a struggle.
"This has had the unfortunate knock-on effect of pushing the next stage of our in-water approval process to obtain our Passenger Certificate which means that we will not be in a position to commence sailings as early in June as we had envisaged."
Read our full report here.
Price list comparison
From the get go, Mr Wood said his new ferry business would be more competitive than the existing operator the ISSG and its Scillonian III vessel.
We had a look at how prices compared. You can have a read of our full price comparison story here.
July - The new boat arrives in Cornwall
On July 17, the new rival passenger ferry service from Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly arrived in Cornwall from Portsmouth ahead of what was then announced as its maiden journey the following Monday (July 22).
The bright yellow and black Atlantic Wolff passenger ship arrived in Newlyn after an eight-hour crossing, ready to take on the historical Scillies operator with a new service it promises will be faster and cheaper for islanders and visitors.
Former Penzance Harbourmaster and new Scilly Ferries boss James Broughton said it was exciting to have "our big bumblebee finally arrive in Penzance". He said: "It's phenomenal. It will open up the islands to visitors and going forward will offer greater flexibility to the islanders."
Look at our pictures of the boat's arrival here.
July - month-long delays announced
More delays were announced as Harland & Wolff's trouble continued. The Government said it would not bail out the shipbuilder to the tune of £200m with the loan guarantee it had requested as the risk to taxpayers was too great.
In a written statement to Westminster on Monday 22, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds explained why the government had rejected the request to act as a guarantor on fresh lending sought by the company. He said it had not been an easy decision but there was a "very substantial risk that taxpayer money would be lost".
Read the story here.
August - service is scrapped
The operators of the new ferry service announced on Thursday, August 1, that it will cease all operations. Scilly Ferries, which was set up by H&W to compete with the historic operator to the islands, will not even do a single journey across from Penzance.
The company said eating away at the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's monopoly was no longer a priority. In a message on its soon-to-be-defunct Facebook page, Scilly Ferries said the bright yellow and black catamaran will now be returned to its shipbuilder in Holland.
Read our blog here.
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