Millions given to shipping company with no ships!

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.

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.

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.

Can it get any crazier?

Sadly, I know the answer.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 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?

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

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

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. ???

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.

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.”

???