Seaborne Freight Archives - Maritime Shipping News

P&O cries ‘ferry foul’ and demands £33m payout to match Eurotunnel’s

26 April 2019

Chris Grayling, UK transport minister, is the gift that keeps on giving: quite literally.
The latest news from the Brexit shitshow is that P&O Ferries has decided it also wants a government handout – because Eurotunnel got one.
If you have followed this altogether daft story, you will recall that ‘Failing’ Grayling gave £100m-worth of contracts to Brittany Ferries, DFDS and, infamously, ferry-free Seaborne Freight, for ferry services between UK and the continent …

The post P&O cries ‘ferry...

https://theloadstar.com/po-cries-ferry-foul-and-demands-33m-payout-to-match-eurotunnels/

Government pays Eurotunnel £33m over Brexit ferry case

1 March 2019

For the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and its beleaguered minister (under pressure from all quarters today), the last few months have been, well, rather tricky.
First it hired Seaborne Freight with no ferries – although the lack of ferries wasn’t actually the big problem in this deal. Then there was the news that the port Seaborne intended to use wouldn’t be operational in time. Next came the news that the …

The post Government pays Eurotunnel £33m over Brexit ferry case appeared first on The...

https://theloadstar.com/government-pays-eurotunnel-33m-over-brexit-ferry-case/

Arklow Shipping was backing Seaborne, laying plans for no-deal ferry services

12 February 2019

As lawyers for the UK government and cross-Channel fixed link operator Eurotunnel met in the High Court to determine whether the government acted illegally in its award of £100m-plus contracts to three ferry companies to provide extra vessel capacity in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Department for Transport has released correspondence in a bid to ease the pressure on secretary of state Chris Grayling.
Mr Grayling was widely criticised …

The post Arklow Shipping was backing Seaborne, laying...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/arklow-shipping-was-backing-seaborne-laying-plans-for-no-deal-ferry-services/

UK Scraps Brexit Ferry Deal with Seaborne Freight

11 February 2019

UK Department of Transport terminates Brexit ferry contract awarded to Seaborne Freight.

https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/271103/uk-scraps-brexit-ferry-deal-with-seaborne-freight/

Chris Grayling terminates contract with no-deal Brexit ferry company

11 February 2019

The misery continues to pile up on desk of UK transport secretary Chris Grayling after the weekend’s news that the government has cancelled its proposed contract with Seaborne Freight, reported here by the HuffPost. After one of The Loadstar’s stories on Seaborne Freight-gate last week, one reader wrote in with the following gem: Did you know that in the Civil Service, a Grayling is a unit of incompetency? For instance, …

The post Chris Grayling terminates contract with no-deal Brexit ferry...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/chris-grayling-terminates-contract-with-no-deal-brexit-ferry-company/

‘Keep the freight moving, worry about Seaborne contract legality later’

5 February 2019

The rule of law is a luxury the UK can no longer afford as it grapples with Brexit, according to procurement professionals.
As claims of illegality shadow the procurement process for Seaborne Freight’s ferry contract, Chartered Institute of Procurement Specialists’ economist John Glen told The Loadstar: “We have to ask whether the ferry services solve the problem government is grappling with, regardless of the legality of this move and the timing …

The post ‘Keep the freight moving, worry about...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/keep-the-freight-moving-worry-about-seaborne-contract-legality-later/

Pressure increases on Grayling and ‘illegal’ Seaborne Freight contract

4 February 2019

Further allegations have rocked the UK’s Department for Transport, with besieged secretary of state Chris Grayling facing heightened calls to justify awarding Seaborne Freight a contract.
A Whitehall source told The Loadstar the decision to award the start-up a contract “stinks” of high-level ministerial intervention and was a “knowing breach” of legislation.
Suggesting a lack of transparency around the contract, as well as the timing of the announcement (24 December), the source suggested …

The...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/pressure-increases-on-grayling-and-illegal-seaborne-freight-contract/

Transport secretary Grayling ‘acted illegally’ in awarding Brexit ferry contracts

1 February 2019

UK transport secretary Chris Grayling may have broken the law by awarding contracts for ro-ro services in the event of a no-deal Brexit, by not having first put them up for public tender.
The Transport Select Committee is investigating allegations that the situation did not meet the criteria for an emergency exemption, in breach of both EU and UK law.
On 28 December, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced it had contracted …

The post Transport secretary Grayling ‘acted illegally’ in...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/transport-secretary-grayling-acted-illegally-in-awarding-brexit-ferry-contracts/

Port of Ramsgate/Seaborne Freight ferry service ‘won’t be fit for purpose’

9 January 2019

A deal between Ramsgate port and prospective cross-channel ferry operator Seaborne Freight is expected to be confirmed “imminently”, the operator told The Loadstar yesterday.
Seaborne services are slated to provide additional cross-Channel capacity and an alternative to Dover, which may witness major congestion in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
But a former seafarer, with 45 years’ experience, 25 of them on Dover-Calais ferries, told The Loadstar he did not see how the …

The post Port of...

https://theloadstar.co.uk/port-of-ramsgate-seaborne-freight-ferry-service-wont-be-fit-for-purpose/