Dredging at Ramsgate Port will begin on January 4 in preparation for ferry services in late March, claim the directors of Seaborne Freight.
The firm, which is proposing to run a Ramsgate/Ostend service, says operations will start in late March – to coincide with the UK withdrawal from the European Union – initially with two ships.
Despite prolonged negotiations no announcement has yet been made that a deal has been signed with Thanet council for the route..
A service had been mooted to start in March this year but the date came -and went – with no sign of progress.
But Seaborne has now been
awarded a government contract worth £13.8million to “supply additional freight capacity on ferry services between England and Belgium in order to minimise the potential disruption of trade across the Short Straits in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.”
The firm is one of three which received a share of £107million.The others are French company Brittany Ferries, receiving £46m and DFDS with an award of £47m.
The ferry services under the contracts have to be operational by March 29, the day Brexit comes into force.
In a statement Seaborne Freight says directors and shareholders have been working over the last two years on a business plan to reintroduce the Ramsgate to Ostend ferry service from early 2019.
A spokesman said: “During the development phase and pending the finalisation of robust funding arrangements, the business has been financed by the shareholders.
“This phase has included locating suitable vessels, making arrangements with the ports of Ostend and Ramsgate, building the infrastructure, such as bunkering, as well as crewing the ferries once they start operating. A work-up phase is part of the programme and training will be provided by a specialist organisation.
“The operational base is located in Folkestone where the Seaborne team is currently based, but will move to Ramsgate as soon as the port has been dredged and the facilities to operate the booking and loading services have been finalised.
“It was intended to start the service in mid-February but this has now been delayed until late March for operational reasons. This coincides with the Department for Transport’s Freight Capacity Purchase Agreement with Seaborne which is part of their preparations to increase ferry capacity in the unlikely event of a no-deal BREXIT.”
‘Four ferries by Summer’
Seaborne say although operations will begin with two ferries this will “very quickly increase to four by late summer.”
