Grayling defends EU exit ferry contract for firm with no ships

BRITAIN’S transport secretary has defended awarding a £14 million contract for shipping goods after Brexit to a new ferry company that owns no ships.

The government last week awarded three contracts to charter extra ferries to ease congestion if the United Kingdom fails to secure a trade deal before leaving the European Union in March.

The smallest contract was won by Seaborne Freight, a British business that has never previously operated a ferry route, raising concern whether the new would be ready.

“I make no apologies for supporting a new British business,” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told BBC radio on Wednesday. “We have looked very carefully at this business. We have put in place a tight contract to make sure they can deliver for us.”

He added that he believed channel ports would be able “to operate normally in all Brexit circumstances”.

But the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on about service March 29, and the risk of a no-deal Brexit is growing, a nightmarish prospect for many businesses, which are now planning for an economic shock.

Finding extra ships, especially vessels that transport trucks, to work new routes across the Channel will be vital if the main terminals of Calais in France and Dover and Folkestone in Britain are clogged by customs checks.

Seaborne Freight did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.