The Port of Dover can cope with moderate Brexit disruption in the event of a no-deal according to a new report.
Dover could handle a 50 per cent increase in processing times if Brexit causes transport delays, with other ports able to absorb overflow if there are “capacity constraints” according to the report’s authors, The Drewry.
With the majority of fresh produce from the world coming to Britain through Dover, there are fears that a no-deal Brexit could hit the port hard, causing delays to imports and creating tailbacks in both directions due to new customs checks.
The Drewry’s report states: “Dover has the border control, check-in, embarkation area and berth capacity to cope with existing demand with some margin and could cope with a 50 per cent increase in process times in some areas, although traffic peaks would need to be managed”.
Recent attempts to create a new route for “roll-on roll-off” ferry transport in the wake of Brexit by the Department for Transport ended in failure after the government contract with Seaborne Freight collapsed following public ridicule.
The Port of Dover stated it welcomed The Drewry’s report. “The report highlights the UK’s reliance on Dover and the challenges of attempting to replicate the unique Dover short sea system anywhere else on much longer routes,” it stated.
“The analysis also makes it clear that there is reserve capacity in Dover to cater for additional peaking along with the opportunity to increase throughput with additional vessel capacity. This supports Dover’s ongoing master planning work to develop the port of the future in order to continue the success of its ferry business beyond Brexit.”
The report affirmed that throughput would be constrained however if checking times were to increase from two minutes, as they currently are, to four.
It said that any significant delay to vessels, such as a doubling of port time in France, would also lead to bottlenecks.
The report also revealed that cargo which doesn’t require rapid transit could be re-routed, although they estimate that only 20 per cent of goods going through Dover would be suitable for re-routing.
