The MyFerryLink strikers have been allowing sporadic crossing from Calais since Wednesday. This happened after authorisation was given by the French ministry of Transport to enter into talks with the representatives of the union. This occurred after the strikers threatened to stop the train traffic in the Eurotunnel for 48 hours. Meanwhile the exits to the Belgian E40 from Jabbeke to the French border remain closed.
French water for truckers in the UK
The strike in Calais is not only causing long queues in Belgium. On the other side of the Channel, angry truckers are threatening riots if the situation in the queue before the tunnel doesn't change soon. The length of the queue is rising just as rapidly as the temperature. It was 38 kilometres long on Wednesday afternoon. An anonymous trucker complained in the British newspaper, the Mirror, that the English authorities are letting him and 3000 colleagues down. "The Red Cross came to hand out 200 bottles of water to 3000 people. It's like a third world country." The Red Cross is now being aided by the coast guard and the council of Kent. Snacks and portaloos are also being provided, as well as water. Ironically, the water originated from French mineral water companies. It is still unknown when the strike will end completely.
No getting through
The transport company, Jac. Op't Hof wants to respond to the situation at Calais but says that no journeys to the UK have been accepted for a week. "Drivers usually go from Paris to two regular customers in England every day, but since the strike last week the supply is stuck. The situation for the drivers in the queues is known now. Besides that, being stuck in these temperatures with fresh produce isn't an option."
The transport company won't be heading to the UK until at least next week. "If the tunnel is closed, or if there are queues, you can book a ferry instead. If the ferries aren't going, you can book other ports where you can join the queue. There's no getting through. With two regular customers in England, the damage to our company is thankfully nil."
Black page
DailyFresh Logistics has also stopped the shipments to the United Kingdom. According to Maaike de Vries the situation at Calais is awful: "This is a black page in the history of DailyFresh Logistics. Our drivers haven't been moving towards Calais for days. The drivers are joining a queue of 2500 lorries that are waiting to cross. The ferries can't handle the influx of vehicles which is causing a shortage of bookings. According to Maaike it's still difficult to say what the costs of the block will be: "Over the last few days around a third of our trade hasn't arrived in England. The costs are now starting to rise rapidly and we are waiting anxiously to see the total damage."
Still enough supplies in the UK
Colin Galbraith of Moorhouse & Mohan on the situation on the other side of the North Sea: "Luckily the demand in the UK is smaller due to the warm weather. The strike has an effect on the supply of Hollandse Salade supplements, tomatoes, Caps and Cues etc. A lot of other products come from the Southern Hemisphere and so don't have to go through the European mainland ports. We have enough supplies but the strikes can't last longer than next Tuesday or Wednesday. We don't ship anything to the mainland unless the transporters have booked through alternative ports."
Jac. Op't Hof
planning@jacopthof.nl
DailyFresh Logistics
mdevries@dailyfresh-logistics.com
Moorhouse & Mohan
Colin@moorhousemohan.co.uk