Dover shrugs off new year Brexit congestion fears

Operators of the key Dover to Calais crossing point of the English Channel say they are confident new Brexit trading arrangements being introduced on Jan 1 between the UK and EU member France will not cause a repeat of the chaotic scenes just before Christmas that saw thousands of lorries stuck in jams on both sides of the Channel.

The Strait of Dover is the world's busiest shipping lane, used by more than 400 commercial ships each day. The 33-kilometer crossing between the two ports is the most important cross-Channel connection.

The Port of Dover is Europe's busiest ferry port and handles £119 billion ($161 billion) worth of trade annually, which is 17 percent of the UK's trade in goods. If it were an airport, it would be the fifth largest in the United Kingdom.

Although the Brexit deal ensures free trade between the UK and the European Union, London's revenue and customs office estimates the additional paper work will cost businesses £7 billion per year, and could cause lengthy delays.

However, the prospect of the UK initially waiving many customs checks and a predicted fall in cross-channel traffic in the new year mean that the start of the new era is expected to be less chaotic than the end of the old one.

"We expect January to be calm because lots of people have taken themselves out of the market by stockpiling, but we expect traffic to be going again from the beginning of February," said John Keefe, director of public affairs at Channel Tunnel operator Getlink. "We are very confident that our bit (of the process) will work."

Embarrassing scenes

Pre-Christmas scenes of thousands of lorries backed up in Kent, when it was still unclear whether or not there would be a Brexit deal, were embarrassing for the British authorities who had said Brexit was all about taking back control.

They were caused by France temporarily shutting its borders with the UK because of the new strain of COVID-19 identified across the Channel.

This just added to difficulties at Dover, and the French ambassador to the UK tweeted that 26 French fire staff had come over to administer COVID tests to stranded lorry drivers, in addition to 37 doctors, nurses and paramedics being flown in from Poland.

Senior British cabinet member Michael Gove admitted the introduction of the new system could initially result in "bumpy moments" because of "practical and procedural changes".

The Financial Times reports new customs facilities on the French side of the Channel are awaiting use.

However, the new lorry park being built in Kent with a capacity of 1200 vehicles, to avoid congestion building up on local roads, will not be ready for use on time.