‘Impossible’ That Seaborne Freight’s Brexit Ferries Will Be Ready In Time For Exit Day

Chris Grayling’s plan to run ferries between Kent and Belgium to bring in crucial supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit will not be ready in time for exit day, the mayor of Ostend has said.

The transport secretary has faced a wave of criticism after handing a £13.8m contract to run ferry services between the Belgian city and Ramsgate to Seaborne Freight, a company with no ships.

Seaborne was one of three firms awarded contracts totalling £108m to lay on additional crossings to ease the pressure on Dover when Britain pulls out of the EU, despite having never run a Channel service.

And now Bart Tommelein, the mayor of Ostend, has said it is “impossible” for his city to be ready for a ferry service in time for Brexit day on March 29 and demanded guarantees about “the solvency” of Seaborne.

It came as Labour said Grayling had handed a government contract to a firm with “no money, no ships, no track record, no employees, no ports and one telephone line and no working website or sailing schedule”, accusing the transport secretary of “gross incompetence”.

Seaborne faced embarrassment last week after it emerged the terms and conditions on its website referred to the delivery of meals, raising suspicions they had been copied and pasted from a takeaway delivery outlet.

In the Commons, Grayling insisted he was “confident that the firm will deliver the service”.

But Tommelein, asked if Ostend would be ready to run regular services by March 29, told the BBC: “No, that’s impossible. We are interested in a ferry line… because we have a harbour and a harbour needs traffic. But there are some inconveniences, also some investments to do in our harbour [and] in the harbour of Ramsgate.

“We need some guarantees [from] the ferry line themselves because I’m worried about a few things… I want guarantees about the profitability of this ferry line and the solvency of this company.”