To avoid the risk of congestion in the “Brexit” scenario, Brittany Ferries is increasing its freight capacity by 50% in three French ports, including Le Havre.
The announcement follows an agreement with the British Ministry of Transport. To prevent the risk of monster truck plugs before boarding for the United Kingdom in the event of a ” hard Brexit “, the shipping company Brittany Ferries announced Monday, December 31, 2018, that it increased by 50% its freight capacity on the lines from three of its ports: Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), Cherbourg (Manche) and Roscoff (Finistère).
More than 50 million euros for Brittany Ferries
120 million euros. This is the envelope unblocked by the British Ministry of Transport to prepare for the worst scenario possible in the context of negotiations around Brexit. In the event of a “no deal”, the government fears the port congestion because of the reinforcement of the controls put in place before boarding the United Kingdom.
The purpose of the manœuvrer? This is, according to the BBC that reveals information, Dover relieve increasing traffic to other European ports. The funds released therefore amounted to 51.2 million euros to Brittany, but also to the Danish company DFDS for 52.5 million euros and to the British company Seaborne for 15.3 million euros.
19 additional round trips each week
In detail, Britanny Ferries has announced a 50% increase in freight traffic on three of its lines:
- from Le Havre to Portsmouth
- from Cherbourg to Poole
- from Roscoff to Plymouth
19 weekly round trips will thus be added to these three lines as from March 29, 2019.
“Pure madness” for the opposition
The UK government thus ensures that the tightening of EU border controls does not produce, in case of hard Brexit, “the delay in the delivery of essential goods” and “significant disruptions to the British economy and the economy. Kent road network. ”
An analysis that is far from sharing the opposition. Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, goes so far as to describe the measure as “sheer madness”.
“The government had the power to avoid the no-deal at any time, rather than spend millions on last-minute contracts. The fact that most of this money comes back to European companies is simply ironic and makes the United Kingdom the laughingstock of the international scene.”
