DOVER, Jan 1 — As dawn broke today over Dover, Britain’s trading gateway to the European Union, the first ferry sailings to and from France of a new post-Brexit era left without delay or drama in holiday-thinned traffic.
A small but steady stream of lorries arrived through the morning at the port in southeast England — Europe’s busiest for roll-on, roll-off freight — with new customs processes appearing to work smoothly.
As drivers approached its eastern ferry docks, they were met by police officers checking that they had completed Covid-19 tests, before being waved through if they showed a negative result.
The driver of a red van with Polish number plates was one of very few turned away for not having a test result, and redirected to sites north of the port where rapid testing is being conducted.
“It’s good to see the port’s done its job and there’s no backlog,” Alan Leigh, 52, of nearby Folkestone, told AFP while taking an early New Year’s Day stroll on the cliffs above the docks.
Beneath him P&O’s “Pride of Kent” vessel sailed out of Dover on time at 0750 GMT, as Britain began life outside the EU’s single market and customs union.
“They’ve had plenty of time to prepare,” Leigh said of officials and government departments. “They’re experts — you’ve got to have faith in them.”
A last-ditch trade deal between London and Brussels, signed only on Christmas Eve, has averted the need for tariffs and quotas that could have severely disrupted trade.
Scores of lorries also passed through the Channel Tunnel connecting Folkestone to France by rail early Friday “without any problem”, its operator Getlink said.
“The traffic was strong enough for an exceptional and historic night, everything went well,” a spokesperson for the group told AFP.
But those involved in cross-Channel trade still fear potential trouble in the coming weeks and months, as customs checks and more paperwork for European travel and trade are needed for the first time in decades.
Ferry group Stena Line tweeted that six freight loads bound for EU member Ireland were turned away at the port of Holyhead in north Wales on Friday for not having the correct paperwork.
However, freight traffic is expected to be lower than usual over the coming days after firms scrambled to move extra shipments ahead of the end of an 11-month Brexit transition period at 2300 GMT yesterday.
Today was a public holiday for New Year’s Day in both Britain and France, and officials expect a bigger test to come when cross-Channel traffic starts picking up next week. — AFP
Source: Malay Mail
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