Keep Calm And Carry On?

With Brexit negotiations continuing, the likelihood of delays for truck drivers at British ports is at the forefront of the minds of everyone in the industry

- Chris Tindall

Trade at ports such as Dover will grind to a halt after Brexit unless a ‘transitional agreement’ can be negotiated with other European countries, the chancellor of the exchequer has said.

Philip Hammond recently gave evidence to a House of Lords committee in which he acknowledged that any short-term arrangement that enabled frictionless trade would have to be agreed with EU negotiators – and that a failure to do so could spell chaos for traffic at UK ports.

However, professional drivers have told T&D that the need to maintain seamless trade is as important for other European countries as it is for Britain and failure will not be allowed.

Concerns have been growing that when the country pulls out of the Customs Union HGVs will be delayed by additional checks at ports, with queues and bottlenecks likely.

“The volumes of trade at Dover could not be accommodated if goods had to be held for inspection, even if they are only held for minutes,” according to Hammond.

“Roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) traffic at Dover is predicated on trucks rolling off a ferry immediately out of the port, and the ferry reloading and departing pretty rapidly. Anything that caused delays in vehicles exiting the port or delays in vehicles off-loading, would cause significant disruption to patterns of movement. We are looking at contingency arrangements in the case of a no-deal exit.”

His comments follow a report published by Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, ‘Ready on Day One’, which sets out what he believes is needed to ensure the Channel ports avoid gridlock and meet the Brexit borders challenge.