Severe delays and disruption caused by striking French workers at Calais are threatening the future of some British continental hauliers and forcing others to turn their backs on international contracts, according to the MD of Brian Yeardley Continental.
Speaking to Commercialmotor.com, as French union Maritime Nord launched its latest strike action in Calais, MD Kevin Hopper said: ”I know of good, long-established international hauliers who just don’t work in continental Europe anymore. The additional costs created by these delays, and having to work around that, is not sustainable for these companies. The money is running out for some hauliers.”
Hopper said Brian Yeardley had incurred “massive” costs during the recent closure of Calais, following industrial action by French workers. The disruption has seen the company divert all of its continental fleet to other ports and it has yet to return to crossing the Channel via Dover and Calais.
He explained: “Over this period it has cost our business £25,000 a week. It costs us an extra £200 per truck to go through Hull to Zebrugge. And then there are the auxillary costs. We do 5,000 crossings a year via Dover and Calais. This is unsustainable. We have a strong balance sheet so we can dip into the profits we’ve made over the past five years to get us over this period but many companies can’t do that.”
Hopper said the company was also reluctant to return to its Dover-Calais routes because of the mounting threat to drivers from rising numbers of migrants trying to stowaway in lorries returning to the UK, exacerbated by the long queues created by the industrial action around the port..
“The long queues on both sides of the Channel causes huge traffic build up [with migrants] left to pick off trucks through the day and night at random to try to stow away. Drivers are left completely helpless to stop them and fear for their safety.”
He called on the British government to do more to tackle the situation. “Only the British government is capable of putting the French government under pressure. But they just don’t understand the situation.”
He pointed to government plans for a secure waiting area for 240 vehicles as an example. “There are between 2,500 to 3,000 trucks a day going through Calais so anyone can see the figures just don’t stack up,” Hopper said.
Referring to the Home Affairs Committee hearing last week, at which the RHA and the FTA gave evidence, Hopper added: “There are a lot of meetings and there is a lot of lip service but when will there be action? Talk is cheap but at the end of the day the international transport community in the UK is dying.”
As this article went to press the French ferry workers’ blockade at the Port of Calais was been lifted, according to ferry operator DFDS Seaways. The move will see DFDS resume a full service between Calais and Dover .
DFDS was prevented from sailing into Calais last month after striking French ferry workers blockaded two berths in Calais in protest at the loss of 600 jobs after ferry company MyFerryLink ceased to operate earlier this year.
Carsten Jensen, senior vice president and head of DFDS Seaways in the UK said: “We will continue talks in Paris in a constructive way and we are delighted that we can now resume a full service between Dover and Calais.
“Two vessels will operate a full service on the route from this time. We are very happy to resume our normal service between Dover and Calais and our customers will no longer be affected by the industrial action in Calais.”
By Carol Millett
-1.jpg)
