Emeraude Ferries operated car ferries between St Malo and Jersey from 1977 to 2006 and, in doing so, brought much needed stability to a key route which had seen a succession of operators over the years.
Solidor
Emeraude, who were already operating passenger-only vessels on the route in the early 1970s, stepped in with the car ferry Solidor, when the Jersey company Channel Island Ferries folded within three years of the launch of their new, purpose-built ferry Fleur des Iles.
Channel Island Ferries, a new ferry operator, had commissioned the construction of Fleur des Iles as the first true car ferry to operate the St Malo route following the demise in 1969 of Jersey Lines' operations with Duchesse de Normandie, followed by Duchesse de Bretagne. Both these vessels required vehicles to be craned on and off.
Early years
Emeraude started life in 1904 as Société des bateaux de la côte d'Émeraude, operating vedettes across the River Rance between Dinard and St Servan, which adjoins St Malo. With interruptions for world wars, the company ran this service until 1967, when the opening of a road route across the Rance Barrage took most of the business away from the vedettes. By 1972 the company had decided that its future lay elsewhere and a passenger service was initiated between Jersey and St Malo with the Belle de Jersey. Renamed Emeraude Lines, the company operated their conventional vedettes in competition with Condor's hydrofoils.
Such was their initial success that in 1976 Belle de Jersey was transferred to the Granville to Jersey route and Belle de Dinard ran between the island and St Malo. The following year Emeraude decided to launch their car ferry service from the French port to Jersey and Guernsey, purchasing a 12-year-old vessel which was renamed Solidor. [1]
She was capable of carrying 60 cars and 560 passengers, and Channel Island residents who were delighted to be able to easily travel backwards and forwards to France with their cars, made the service successful.
Solidor II
After 12 years in service on the route Solidor was replaced with the younger Solidor 2, which was itself already 12 years old. A conventional ferry, which had previously operated as the Langeland between Langeland in Denmark and Kiel in Germany, she took anything upwards of three hours to cross from St Malo to Jersey.
This proved no hardship for the many passengers who decided to enjoy an excellent meal in the Solidor's restaurant before disembarking on to French soil for the start of their holiday. Emeraude's Solidors had the vehicle carrying side of the route to themselves as Condor switched their attention to routes to England, introducing first their hydrofoils, and then fast catamarans, alongside conventional car carrying ferries.
Emeraude kept ahead of any potential competition by introducing Solidor 3 in 1996, followed by Solidor 4 in 2001 and Solidor 5 the same year. But reduced capacity – Solidor 4 only held 300 passengers and 32 cars – meant higher operating costs and Emeraude started to struggle.
Competition
Competition from Condor in 2002, with the introduction of their first car-carrying catamaran to the St Malo route, led to severe financial problems and a formal bankruptcy process in 2003, after losses of 3 million Euros the previous year. The company was taken over by the Sogestran group, which acquired Solidor 2, Solidor 4 and Solidor 5 in the process. But the writing was on the wall, and continuing financial difficulties, coupled with their inability to find a suitable vessel to operate competitively on the route from the islands to France, led to the company announcing in May 2006 that it was ceasing operations.
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Emeraude vedette
Emeraude Lines' French crews were renowned for their customer service and friendliness
Philippe Robineau, the familiar purser on a succession of Emeraude vessels. Popular with crew and passengers alike
Solidor 2
Solidor 1
Emeraude under construction
Emeraude
Emeraude in 1994 (Picture Kevin Le Scelleur)
Emeraude (Picture Kevin Le Scelleur)
Emeraude France
Emeraude France
Emeraude France
Emeraude France
Emeraude France
Emeraude
Solidor (Picture Kevin Le Scelleur)
Solidor 1
Solidor 1 at St Malo
Solidor 1
Solidor 1 in 1989
Solidor 2 (Picture Kevin Le Scelleur)
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
2005 timetable
Solidor 2 in St Malo
Purser Philippe
Purser Philippe
Solidor 2 crew
Purser Philippe
Solidor 5 at sea
Solidor 5
Solidor 5
Emeraude in 1996
Solidor crew in St Malo
Solidor crew
Solidor 4
Cars drive on to Solidor 5
Emeraude staff at the naming ceremony for Solidor 5
1992 brochure
1992 brochure
1985 brochure
2005 timetable
2005 timetable
Mike Pitman and Philippe Robineau in 2019 - two Emeraude stalwarts
Pagasus
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 2 staff
Solidor 2 staff
Solidor 2
Solidor 2
Solidor 3
Solidor 3
Solidor 3
Solidor 3
Solidor 3
Solidor 3
Solidor 4
Solidor 4
Solidor 4
Solidor 4
Solidor 4's crew
Solidor 4's crew
Solidor 4's crew in 2003
Solidor 4
Solidor 4
Solidor 4
Solidor 5
Notes and references
- ↑ Jerripedia editor Mike Bisson, who was present at the launch of Fleur des Iles in Rotterdam, was a regular passenger on Solidor and its successors. He writes:"I travelled regularly between Jersey and France over the years, before eventually settling in France in 2000, and many of those journeys were on Emeraude Ferries' vessels. The two Solidors were the ones I remember with the greatest affection. The usual routine was a departure late on Friday afternoon, adjourning immediately to the restaurant after securing my car below, and enjoying a meal of such quality that the passage to St Malo had virtually been completed by the time a digestif was served by purser Philippe."
