Brexit: the gift that keeps on giving
The UK is going to spend £108,000,000 on ferries in case of a no-deal Brexit in an attempt to ease congestion at Dover.
Now, this begs several questions. How much is a ferry? How many ferries are we actually getting for 108 MILLION POUNDS? Is there some sort of bulk buy offer in place? Will they be the kind of ferries that have cinemas and tiny arcades on? Etc, etc.
Of course, like Brexit, none of those questions will likely ever be answered, but here’s what we know.
Our no-deal contingency plans are being amped up, and this means that the Department for Transport (DfT) has signed contracts worth £107.7 million with a French, Danish and of course, a British ferry company, in case we withdrawn from the European Union with no deal in place.
The contracts have been signed in anticipation of the increased border checks that will occur in the event of a no-deal Brexit, which will then “cause the delivery of critical goods to be delayed”.
Chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping Bob Sanguinetti said: “Government is rightly preparing for every eventuality… but it is not clear that government-chartered ships can move goods faster or more efficiently than the private sector.”
“Those goods will still need to go through the same customs procedures in ports – which is where the real problems would be.”
Meanwhile the Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable called the move “complete madness”.
“The government has the power to stop ‘no deal’ at any time but instead is spending millions on last minute contracts.”
“The fact that this money is predominantly going to European companies is nothing short of ironic, reducing Britain to a laughing stock on the global stage,” he said.
Danish company DFDS was awarded a contract worth £47.3 million and French firm Brittany Ferries one worth £46.6 million.
The UK’s Seaborne Freight was given a £13.8 million deal.
It is hoped that almost 4,000 more lorries a week can come and go on these added ferries from ports in addition to Dover, including Plymouth, Poole, and Portsmouth.
