Global factors are affecting the cost and supply of fuel
08:12, 29 Apr 2026Updated 08:21, 29 Apr 2026
Global events have caused concern for travellers(Image: Pexels)
The boss of a ferry company that operates from the UK to France, Spain and Ireland has given an update to customers amid concerns over global fuel supplies. The cost and supply of fuel around the world has been hit after the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.
It has caused a spike in oil prices, sending the price of petrol and diesel soaring for motorists and also creating concern for air travel. The severe restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for oil, has been a key factor.
With no apparent end to the crisis, with the US and Iran still yet to come to any sort of agreement to secure the waterway, people heading off on holiday this summer have become increasingly concerned over the prospect of either price hikes or cancellations due to fuel supply.
Now, the boss of Brittany Ferries, which operates from Portsmouth, Plymouth and Poole to France, Spain and Ireland, has given an update to customers.
Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries, said in an update on Tuesday: “You don’t need me to tell you that the war in Iran is creating uncertainty and anxiety in society. We may not be close to the destruction wrought by bombs and missiles, but we are certainly feeling the consequential pain of this geopolitical crisis. Prices at the petrol pump have soared as the Strait of Hormuz has been strangled. Energy costs are rising. Even mobile networks have warned about potential data rationing.
“In the travel sector you will have seen concerns raised by the airlines. According to their trade body IATA, the industry has perhaps six weeks of kerosene left.”
He added that some airlines had already announced flight schedule reductions or fare increases. But, he said, that did not apply to Brittany Ferries.
Mr Mathieu continued: “Their warnings have concerned me and I’m sure they have concerned you. However I want to reassure you: they certainly do not affect Brittany Ferries and destinations served by sea.
“In the face of all the uncertainty, I took the decision to take our more positive message to media last week. In London and Paris I toured TV and radio studios. I wanted as many people as possible to know that there is no chance that Brittany Ferries will run out of fuel. You can be 100% confident that we will get you to your destination.
Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries, has given an update(Image: Pexels)
“Furthermore, we will not add any surcharge to holiday makers’ tickets in response to the crisis in the Gulf. Our prices rose by inflation earlier this year, and by inflation alone. There will be no fuel surcharge. We are able to make this price promise to passengers because we took prudent steps to hedge the majority of fuel costs before the crisis began. Hedging means setting a price in advance: in this case around 70 dollars a barrel.
“If the price had fallen, we would have lost out. Our fuel costs would have been higher than the price on the open market. But as the price per barrel rose, and rose significantly due to events elsewhere, our hedging strategy proved successful.
“Hedge your bets is an expression we all understand. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But I don’t think anyone has the right to adopt the posture of a bad gambler, least of all a sector taking people on holiday. The apparent willingness to reach for the war in the Middle East as an excuse to recover losses from in the guise of surcharges, or by cancelling flights that don’t make a profit, makes me angry.”
He said he wanted his company’s ships to be full of holidaymakers this summer and said “everyone should be confident that their holiday company will do the right thing”. He said companies must not “pile on the pain of a gamble gone wrong, by levying fuel surcharges”.
Mr Mathieu added: “Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to remind everyone that destinations like Brittany and Cantabria, Cork and Guernsey, are safe, beautiful and unencumbered by over-tourism. They are a million miles from the centre of a conflict we all pray ends soon.”
