Initially scheduled on 1 November 2021, the launch of the new shipping line between the port of Calais and the port of Tilbury has been postponed to the first quarter of 2022.
“Due to a failure of our partners, Blue Channel Line has been forced to postpone the launch of its line.” Blue Channel Line was going to charter a Suardiaz vessel.
Port of Calais No Longer Wants to Pay
The port of Calais CEO Jean-Marc Puissesseau says he no longer wants to pay the cost of checking lorries bound for the U.K. for migrants.
This costs the French Channel port EUR 8 million a year.
In a letter to the French prime minister he asked the government to review the Le Touquet agreements (*), and “send the bill to the UK, which is now out of the EU.”
(*) Juxtaposed controls, a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls take place before boarding the ferry, rather than after disembarkation.
Brexit Affected Port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel
Port of Calais had a turbulent year 2019, with the following reasons:
Key figures:
Brexit also affected Getlink (Channel Tunnel)
Key figures:
Market share for trucks:
Cross-Channel Firms Challenge UK Brexit Ferry Decisions
The CEOs of Eurotunnel and Port of Calais have objected to the emergency contracts awarded by the UK government to Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Seaborne Freight to provide additional ro-ro capacity in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, threatening to take legal action.
The administrative court of Lille (France) has condemned the French State to pay €480,000 to the port of Calais. The port has suffered losses due to the non-intervention of the police to end the blockage of the ferry terminal by MyFerryLink strikers in 2015.
The police said it did not intervene because of the migrant crisis at the same time.
Based on the loss made by the two-month strike of MyFerryLink staff in 2015, the Chamber of Commerce and the Port of Calais went to court. They demand France to pay the sum of EUR 1.8 million to compensate for the losses, reports Nord Littoral (in French).
They also accuse the State and its police forces to act differently when incidents happen with the Eurotunnel. As soon as someone tries to block the Chunnel police forces are intervening immediately. In stark contrast, Port of Calais was blocked regularly during two months, and nothing happened to prevent this.