In a new shortsea initiative, Unisea will connect Antwerp with Tilbury, deploying a vessel of 700 TEU. It is equipped for dangerous cargo and has 100 reefer plugs on deck This short sea connection departs from ATO terminal in Antwerp, guaranteeing short turnaround times from Antwerp to Tilbury and back, with departures in Antwerp on Monday and Thursday. 

Besides loading palletwide HCs, the new service can also load 40ft containers arriving by train from China. The total transit time between China and UK (LCT Tilbury) is just 18 days.  The service is open for third party cargoes in both directions.

Antwerp naturally cites Unisea as another opportunity for shippers and LSPs to avoid the pitfalls of Brexit by switching from accompanied trucking via the Dover Straits to unaccompanied shipping, in its case lo-lo.

On the ro-ro side, this message has been coming loud and clear from CLdN Ro.Ro for several years, while P&O Ferries is clearly prepared for a major switch with the strategic Tilbury2 terminal, dedicated to unaccompanied traffic, while sister company Ferrymasters now has a dedicated DC at London Gateway.

The message is now being made for them by the British government.

Cabinet Minister Michale Gove has presented the government’s “reasonable worst-case scenario” planning, including a warning that between 30-50% of trucks crossing the Channel – by ferry and fixed link – will not be ready for the new regulations coming into force on 1 January 2021, while a “lack of capacity to hold unready trucks at French ports” could reduce the flow of traffic across the strait to 60-80% of normal levels.

“This could lead to maximum queues of 7,000 port-bound trucks in Kent and associated maximum delays of up to two days,” Gove warns in a “leaked” letter to transport industry leaders.

The “unpreparedness” applies to trucks using other ro-ro ports, but crucially there is more of a buffer and if the transports are unaccompanied, driver resources – which are increasingly problematic – are safeguarded.  

Tim Morris, CEO of the UK Major Ports Group, says that while the Minister’s letter clearly sets out the potential for significant disruption, particularly in Kent, the  UK has a range of ports all around the coast with additional capacity to handle EU-UK trade flows, many of whom are highly experienced in enabling global trade and border processes. “It is vital that UK businesses understand their supply chain options and prepare really urgently for likely disruption in some areas and new requirements,” said Morris.

It is not hard to work out what the wider logistic industry’s response to Mr Gove’s letter would be. According to the British International Freight Federation (BIFA), the government is simply trying to absolve itself of any blame for a forthcoming fiasco. BIFA’s Director General, Robert Keen, says: “The Government has received repeated warnings from all sides of the supply chain that neither businesses involved in trade between the EU and the UK, nor the freight and logistics sector that physically handles and manages that trade, is ready for the new procedures that will be in place from January 1st 2021.

“With just over 14 weeks to go before the end of the Brexit Transition Period, traders and logistics providers are still waiting for so much information and clarity from the government and are shocked by the lack of consistency in Government policy, systems planning and procedures.”

UK -EU trade has been dangerously overdependent on the Dover Straits accompanied freight model for years, based on price, convenience, availability, booking simplicity, frequency of services, and the 100% externalisation of the environmental costs of long-distance trucking. The UK’s exit from the EU is the forcing house for change to, long-term, more sustainable supply chains.

• As a “next step” in the development of a digitally secured port, the Port of Antwerp has launched “Certified Pick up.” Touted as a digital, secure and integrated solution for the release of containers, CPu will start from January 1st 2021 and will replace the current system of PIN codes. “This new way of working will guarantee a secure, transparent and optimised release process for incoming containers, which will then leave the port by rail, barge or truck,” said the port. The CPu platform receives and processes container information to generate an encrypted digital key, with which the eventual carrier can pick up the container.  This digital key is created only when the final carrier is known.  The time between the creation of the digital key and the collection of the container is therefore minimal.