Dover, Kent, UK: The port of Dover has been closed for the next 48 hours following the French decision to stop all passenger and freight movements apart from unaccompanied trailers.
The French government said on Sunday that all passenger and human-handled freight transport from the UK to France would be suspended for 48 hours from 11pm UK time.
France acted to halt truck movements in the wake of fresh concerns over the spread of a new strain of coronavirus that is now widespread in the UK.
UK ministers and officials will discuss the move at the government’s Cobra emergency committee on Monday. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged the public and hauliers not to travel to ports in Kent, saying “significant disruption” was likely in the area.
Kent Police has put Operation Stack into force on the M20 towards Dover to queue trucks caught in the disruption. The force said it had implemented the closure of the coast-bound carriageway of the motorway between Junctions 8 and 11 as a “contingency measure”.
The Department for Transport said that Manston Airport in Kent, which is being readied to take up to 4,000 lorries to ease congestion in the county, may be opened to help ease congestion.
Rod McKenzie, policy director at the Road Haulage Association, said: “It’s only 48 hours, but the French ban will have a devastating effect on the supply chain.
“We have seen in recent days the queues on both sides of the channel because of Brexit stockpiling and the Christmas rush and now border closures will mean everything including perishable food supplies will be impacted.
“We depend on the short straits for our daily supplies. What we are talking about is everything: factory parts, fresh and frozen vegetables, and all the Christmas deliveries.”
Announced with little more than a few hours notice, the ban is expected to cause chaos at ports including Dover and Portsmouth. It comes with cross-Channel freight already under pressure with five-plus mile queues on the two main approach roads to Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal because of a mix of Brexit stockpiling, Christmas demand and coronavirus measures restricting ferry capacity.
Drivers on the French side have had to queue for hours to get back into Britain, with additional police security checks for migrants causing major tailbacks of up to 10 miles.
The Port of Dover is closed to traffic leaving the UK “until further notice” due to border restrictions in France, the port said in a statement.
Freight coming to Britain from France is not affected but many drivers will not want to risk becoming trapped in the UK.
“Tonight’s suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies – and exports of UK food and drink,” Food and Drink Federation chief executive Ian Wright warned.
“Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they have a real fear of getting marooned. The government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt accompanied freight from its ban,” he said.
Alex Veitch, general manager, Logistics UK said: “Logistics UK is aware that accompanied freight from the UK is not being allowed access to France for 48 hours; Logistics UK is very concerned about the welfare of drivers travelling from the UK to France at this time and is urgently seeking more information for our members. Driver health and safety is our key concern, and it is essential that they continue to be recognised as key workers and given access to testing, if necessary, as a priority to ensure the continued movement of goods to and from France.
“Our advice to members is to check with ports before travelling, and keep in close contact with drivers to ensure their welfare is maintained.”
The British Retail Consortium joined the Food and Drink Federation in appealing to the government to find a solution, but also added that there should be no immediate shortages since retailers had stock in place now for Christmas.
French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said France was suspending all traffic from the UK from midnight for at least 48 hours. Several countries have banned or are considering bans on flights from the UK including Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Canada, and Turkey.
Eurotunnel suspended access to its Folkestone terminal on Sunday night for traffic and freight heading to Calais.
The number of cases of coronavirus has almost nearly double in a week with 35,928 recorded on Sunday. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new variant of the virus was “getting out of control”.
The new strain of the virus was first detected in September. In November around a quarter of cases in London were the new variant. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.
It is thought to have mutated in a way to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells, but it is not thought to more deadly than other variants.
