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A Department for Transport spokesman added: “This contract was awarded in the full knowledge that Seaborne Freight is a new shipping provider, and that the extra capacity and vessels would be provided as part of its first services. As with all contracts, we carefully vetted the company’s commercial, technical and financial position in detail before making the award.”

🤣🤣🤣

seabornefreight.com/about

Their website implies that the Ramsgate/Ostend route is currently working and not mothballed. It’s also not possible to see any timetables or details or in fact anything at all without an authorised login. Methinks a few smelly rats are about. Perhaps this is really a government setup without wanting to look like it?

They’re saying the only alternative was to give the contract to EU companies. Have we really no British owned ferry companies now? Have we been sold off like in David Walliams’ The Queen and I without noticing? I know most of our utilities are foreign owned.

I also read that berths at Ramsgate where the ferry will run from has narrow berths and there are only a few vessels suitable most of which are already in service elsewhere. 🤣

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised anymore at rediculous decisions by our politicians. 🤬🤬🤬

Ramsgate closed down as ferry port several years ago. What’s the betting that £14+ million is lost money?

That explains why Ramsgate is no longer used. I thought I remembered something about livestock traffic and sheep but couldn’t remember what.

I fear Mr Trump has a point with his Fake News. I doubt the people of Ramsgate want the ferry port to reopen (A new marina would be so much nicer) and so much goes on behind closed doors, it’s impossible to know what’s really happening.

Why open Ramsgate anyway? It’s very close to Dover which runs fine. If the EU owned ferries up and off, its ships we need not ports. There’s London, Felixstowe, Harwich, Great Yarmouth (nice new harbour greatly underused), Hull/Grimsby within easy reach of Europe and more that aren’t out of the way. Are they all foreign owned?

When I heard this I thought someone had got the date wrong and it was April 1st. How much more money can we lose?

I agree NfkDumpling why are they not using existing facilities. Some sort of underhand Government deal going on ?

The point is that all the delays will be happening at customs. A whole lot of extra ships loaded with freight aren't going to help.

I read that this company has been working for nearly 2 years on reintroducing ferry crossings from Ramsgate to Ostend - they are probably the only company that are capable of having it up and running in time. They were due to start in February 2019 but the start has been delayed until March 2019.

They will have to find some suitable ships and crews pretty smartish if they are due to start in March

I am afraid my first thought was - it is not what you know but who you know. I wonder who in the government is in the pocket of some executive in this "company" - it is the only reasonable explanation.

Really Beau? You’d have thought they might have bought and crewed the odd ship by now and when interviewed last night no one in the Port of Ramsgate, including the Council, knew anything about it.

now I heard thet the director is a man who gives husge donations to the tories and a brexiteer......"great" britain...what a joke!!

Can it get any crazier?

Sadly, I know the answer.

Beau - they were actyally due to open in Feb 2018 which was delayed till a bit later last year (May 2018?). Still nothing.
They have £65 (ish) as stated assets. Up from 50 something the year before.

Apparently they won't get any Government money if they don't produce the goods by March or thereabouts. Can see those goal posts moving.

On Rado 4 they said (Govt spokesperson) that no money will be paid upfront and they will get nothing if they don’t deliver.
About 20 years ago when several ferries a day ran from Ramsgate to Dieppe the ships were catamarans and the journey time was longer than Dover to Calais. The more recent crossings took about 4 hours and were at odd times - many starting or finishing about 4 am.
It will increase lorries on the roads traversing the country though whatever routes they choose - unless they are thinking of diverting some lorries to different routes.

True they won't get any money if they don't fulfill the contracts but the other two companies will, even if they are never used. This begs the question why are the contracts different? If the civil servants who negotiated the contracts have doubts about the ability of this company to operate successfully why did they award the contract?

Makes me wonder if the whole things is just a scheme to frighten MPs into voting for this appalling deal. Does the government have any intention of accepting a no deal?

Surely there must be a master plan? You couldn't make it up otherwise!

Perhaps they are making Brexit look so awful (which we all know it is) that Parliament is bound to reject the deal and call the whole thing off. The Tories will then blame everyone else for their failure to deliver the greatest fiasco since the South Sea Bubble.

Cinders I rather thought that too. It is impossible to believe that everything that has been said and done is what it appears to be on the face of it. Just a bit concerned that it is all designed to frighten MPs into voting for the appalling deal.

I don't think parliament should just call it off though, although I would like that to happen. I think the only democratic thing to do is to ask the electorate what they think. Now we know the outcome of the negotiations it would seem fair to ask us to vote on whether we wish to go ahead with a rubbish deal or benefit from all we now understand and call the whole thing off. Anything else will lead to extreme discontent and no one will be happy. Government will fall and we will have a very unpleasant general election.

Surely we should all have the right to demonstrate how we feel now everything is clear?

I know the other two Ferry companies will get some money but I did not think it was all of it. Those companies have ships and will need to get them serviced etc and have extra staff in place - all costs for them.

I agree that we need another vote with three option

*leave with no deal
*leave with the deal that TM has on the table
*stay in EU

Then if there is no clear majority the option with the least votes should be taken off the table and another vote taken on the remaining two options.

I think someone suddenly realised that the other two companies weren't British (one Danish, one French) thought OH B----R! that won't sound good when we've promised o get rid of the EU! and hurriedly picked the first British one that came to light (unless it was the only British bid of course). But I could be wrong they may just have been to school with someone high up. It does show that some people are going to make money from Brexit