The boss of Stena Line’s UK Port Authorities has said he is confident there will be a clear flow of goods at Holyhead port after the Brexit transition period ends – despite concerns from the IRHA that there may be a „certain degree of mayhem”.
IRHA president Eugene Drennan was today quoted by the BBC as saying that indecision is leading to „a certain degree of mayhem.”:
„After the deadline and UK ‚Brexiting’, the decisions still won’t be made. They’ll unfold as the problems appear. That leads to a certain degree of mayhem. You will have time delay, you’ll have a lot of anxious moments. You’ll have a lot of truck people getting a little hot under the collar. You’ll have ferry times delayed and you’ll have a general upset. Even though it’s called a transition period, there has been no transition. It’s a rush now these last few weeks to try and get systems together, to try and get things up and running and though the Irish side has a reasonable degree of preparedness done, some of it is very cumbersome. And none of it links up with Her Majesty systems. England and on that side, on the Holyhead side, they’re not ready at all.”
However, Ian Davies, Stena Line’s head of UK Port Authorities, has said that the port of Holyhead have been preparing for a no-deal scenario, and that live tests are due to be conducted within the next fortnight. Davies added that „There should be a clear flow through Holyhead port for inward goods from Ireland.”
One of the challenges facing the port is the lack of a customs post, which means lorries entering the port will likely have to travel to Birmingham or Warrington to go through customs.
As we have previously reported, daily ferry services between Ireland and France have been announced for 2021 so as to give Irish hauliers an alternative route to the UK landbridge. Although travelling by ferry to France takes approximately 18 hours, it allows drivers to use their drivers’ hours wisely and to drive to their destination once they are off the ferry.
Photo credit: Gareth James / Geograph UK