Chaos continues in Calais and beyond

Port delays on both sides of the Channel are costing the UK logistics industry £750,000 a day, according to figures from the UK’s Freight Transport Association (FTA).

Problems in France with migrants, striking ferry workers and protesting farmers mean drivers are spending hours stuck in queues in Operation Stack on the M20 in Kent and on routes around the Pas de Calais region.

FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham commented: “Given the value of goods lost and the subsequent cost to business, these figures show that Operation Stack is not just an issue for Kent and the southeast of England but a serious national strategic problem.”

Hookham even called for Calais to be made a strike-free zone. “It is simply not acceptable that industrial action in France can cause such chaos which is impacting on the British economy,” he said. “Calais has to be made a strike free-zone so that cross-Channel traffic can start moving again and Operation Stack can be lifted as soon as possible.”

Major delays

The situation in Calais remains very difficult, according to Clémentine Cojez of local trucking firm Carpentier Logistique. “Last night another immigrant died on the Eurotunnel site, knocked over by a lorry,” she said. “Traffic was therefore stopped for several hours. It started again this morning, but with significant delays. There is currently a 9-hour wait at Coquelles for the tunnel and around a 5-6-hour wait for the ferry, but it’s impossible to estimate exact times.”

Since trucks were not reaching the port quick enough, she said, many boats were leaving before being fully loaded.

“Since the end of June, we have lost a lot of money because we have to pay the drivers to wait for the ferry or the tunnel, while the customers do not receive deliveries on time and nothing is moving,” she said. “We have therefore decided to limit our deliveries to the UK while we wait for the situation to improve.”

Not just Calais

“It has been chaos for the last month,” said Jack Futers of Manchester-based France Line. “But it’s not just Calais, there have been protests and blockages at other French ports like Caen in Normandy, as well as at the tunnel between France and Italy and on motorways to Spain and Germany. Bridges have also been blocked. In Rouen, all but one bridge is impassable, causing major delays.”

A spokesperson for Mooy Logistics in the Netherlands admitted some issues from the strikes and bloackages, but reported nothing major. “We have a lot of experience at Mooy, and our drivers know the roads in France very well,” he said. “So delays have mostly been limited to between half a day and a day.”

Investing in security

This morning, the French minister of interior Bernard Cazeneuve accused Eurotunnel of failing to put in place the necessary means to block the influx of migrants, according to Cojez.

“Last night, around 1,900-2,000 migrants again tried to invade the Eurotunnel site,” she said. “The situation is becoming truly uncontrollable.”

UK home secretary Theresa May announced an extra £7m in funding to upgrade security in Coquelles.Earlier this month, she also revealed that a new secure zone would be created in Calais for UK-bound lorries.