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UK may revive Belgian ro-ro route to ease post Brexit snags
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/11/13 09:58:21
THE BRITISH government plans to reopen an old sea route to move freight between England and Belgium if bottlenecks develop after Brexit, reports Bloomberg.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Department for Transport officials are in talks with shipbrokers to charter ro-ro ferries to run between Ramsgate and Ostend, possibly running to Rotterdam.
The ro-ro plan would take effect in case of a "hard Brexit" or under any scenario that involves delays at the border such as customs checks after March 29, the people said.
Ramsgate would help alleviate pressure on nearby Dover, Europe's busiest ferry port, and lower the risk of 17-mile long road backups, which have been known to happen.
Trucks are now carried between Dover and Calais, France, 25 miles across the English Channel, with minimal delay. But customs checks, if required, could take up to 45 minutes per vehicle. The British fear the French could impose extra delays.
"We also need to prepare for the worst-case scenario, whereby the authorities at Calais are deliberately directing a go-slow approach, by supporting a diversion of the flow to more amenable ports in other countries," Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told Parliament.
The 65-mile strait between Ramsgate and Ostend has been inactive since a commercial ferry operator shut down several years ago. Local officials have sought to revive the route for truck cargo since before the 2016 Brexit vote, however that plan hasn't borne fruit. The government's initiative also faces the challenge of getting the boats on a short-notice timeline.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Department for Transport officials are in talks with shipbrokers to charter ro-ro ferries to run between Ramsgate and Ostend, possibly running to Rotterdam.
The ro-ro plan would take effect in case of a "hard Brexit" or under any scenario that involves delays at the border such as customs checks after March 29, the people said.
Ramsgate would help alleviate pressure on nearby Dover, Europe's busiest ferry port, and lower the risk of 17-mile long road backups, which have been known to happen.
Trucks are now carried between Dover and Calais, France, 25 miles across the English Channel, with minimal delay. But customs checks, if required, could take up to 45 minutes per vehicle. The British fear the French could impose extra delays.
"We also need to prepare for the worst-case scenario, whereby the authorities at Calais are deliberately directing a go-slow approach, by supporting a diversion of the flow to more amenable ports in other countries," Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told Parliament.
The 65-mile strait between Ramsgate and Ostend has been inactive since a commercial ferry operator shut down several years ago. Local officials have sought to revive the route for truck cargo since before the 2016 Brexit vote, however that plan hasn't borne fruit. The government's initiative also faces the challenge of getting the boats on a short-notice timeline.