The British government could threaten its costly plans for emergency communications across the English Channel after the Brexit shipwreck. One of the shipping companies commissioned by the Department of Transportation to secure ferry traffic after leaving the EU has never had a ship in service, as it is known today. The opposition spoke of a „new debacle“, the Ministry defended the award of the contract.
The government had booked about 120 million euros ferries to limit the chaos of the port of Dover in the event of a disorderly Brexit. With the additional ferry connections in the English Channel supply bottlenecks for „important goods“ should be avoided, it was said on the weekend from government circles. The orders were awarded to three shipping companies from France, Denmark and Great Britain.
„New provider“
As the BBC now reported, the British shipping company Seaborne Freight received an order of the equivalent of more than 15 million euros, although she has never operated cargo ships. In addition, the port facility in Ramsgate, South East England, from where the shipping company wants to operate ferry connections to Belgium, is too narrow for most modern merchant ships. The port has not been operated commercially since 2013.
„Nothing brings Brexit to the point more than this new debacle,“ criticized Labor MP Neil Coyle. Local politician Paul Messenger asked, „Why choose a company that has never transported a single truck in its history?“
The Ministry of Transport defended the decision. It had been known that Seaborne was a „new supplier“. The company will provide the agreed services. Seaborne announced that it would make the port of Ramsgate operational by the end of March until the EU’s exit.
The Ministry of Transport’s orders to the three shipping companies should enable nearly 4,000 trucks per week to be brought from the mainland to British ports. This should be relieved, especially the heavily frequented port Dover. The British authorities fear that the reintroduction of border controls as a result of Brexit will lead to an overload of Dover and giant traffic jams near the port.
