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The day Britain left the EU, Dover was silent. Aside from the occasional meandering vehicle, the city’s port remained empty. The ferries sailed silently across the still, glistening sea and into the mists that darkened the continent. Even the winds that frequently whip the coast seemed to subside in deference to the symbolism of it all. With decades-old deals destroyed and replaced by a trade deal agreed to a few days earlier, the scene couldn’t be further from the chaos some had predicted in the previous months, or even from the disruption of a week earlier.
At the top of the cliff, a prerecorded message to tourists from a talking telescope was looped in a robotic accent. “Dover, with its history stretching back more than 4,000 years, is the busiest passenger ferry port in the world,” he said, free from the context of the scene below. “Located in and around the Dour River Valley, and its famous white cliffs, Dover has always been on the front line of history.”
The city has once again found itself on that front line in the Brexit debate. It was not one of the largest electoral districts to vote out, although a significant 62 percent voted to leave the EU, but as an important route for the transport of goods and a powerful symbol of the nation and its borders, has remained a speaker. point throughout the debate. Over the past half decade, groups on both sides have been forced to come forward to project statements onto the blank canvas of the cliffs, whether they be tabloid newspapers declaring “See EU Later” or lobbyists in favor of staying promises. bright back to chalk. However, on the bright afternoon of January 1, the cliffs are mostly occupied by dog walkers and bird watchers enjoying the serenity of a day that had the potential to host unprecedented chaos.
“It’s actually quite nice because there is usually a lot of noise coming from there,” said Michael Hutchison, who joined his friend Ros Newington for a walk along the cliffs. “Especially with all the trucks over the last week or so,” he adds, referring to the disruption in Kent caused by the Covid-related border closure by French officials, “has been horrible.” Both in their 60s, they had voted to stay, but were happy a deal had been negotiated. However, despite their pragmatism, the calm of the day did not convince them. “It’s a calm before the storm,” Ms. Newington said.
When it was possible for Britain to leave the EU without a trade deal, the predictions for the coming weeks and months were dire. Trucks would pile up along highways, food supplies would be clogged, and the nation’s economy would be significantly affected as the disruption wreaked havoc on commerce. A taste of the predicted stasis was felt when France closed its borders with the UK to limit the spread of a new strain of Covid-19, and travelers were now forced to test before crossing the channel. Introduced on the 21st, the carrier backlog was mostly removed by Boxing Day, with even very few proving positive for the virus on departure.
The P&O ferry departs from the port of Dover
(EPA)
However, far from being invaded on the first day outside the EU, ferry services like those operated by P&O were canceled due to low demand. The small number of arriving shippers was greeted with relative ease, and the boardwalk welcomed far more families and hikers than truckers. The longest lines that could be seen along the shoreline were made up of socially estranged locals looking to buy coffee from street vendors.
This was not unexpected: the first days of the new agreement are unlikely to put pressure on the port. Many shippers were expected to stay clear of the borders as new customs controls were put in place, while the holiday buildup and oversupply at retailers were anticipated to mean limited demand. Just over 2,000 trucks passed between Thursday and Friday morning, about a third of the daily average for a port that received 2,397,270 carriers in 2019.
Looking to the port, as has often been the case over the past year, Covid-19 posed a much more direct problem than Brexit. Carriers who had stopped at the pop-up coronavirus testing center at Manston Airfield gave a negative result to police on duty at the port entrance, who in turn waved them through. Those who had not yet been screened, sympathetically and with the help of a large laminated poster with the airport zip code, walked away. Mateusz, a Polish shipper in his 30s arriving at the port, said getting tested and getting the go-ahead took him about an hour in total. Even the journey caused him little trouble. “Now it’s easy,” he said. “Because it’s New Years, people stay home.” Instead, their concern lies in the possibility of disruptions when business returns to normal after the Christmas break, with carriers and commuters returning to the roads. He was unaffected today, but remains skeptical about the future. “I think Brexit is not good for the British,” he added before driving to the port.
At Folkestone, a few hundred trucks passed through the Eurotunnel throughout the day. The four who were rejected were denied not because they had not complied with customs controls, but because they had not presented coronavirus test certificates. John Keefe, spokesman for the tunnel, watched the first carrier pass under the new regime. “It was really quite strange,” he said. “Very quiet, very quiet. Everyone was holding their breath as to what was going to happen and everything went as planned. “
So far so good, but the question remains how the system will work under stress. The UK has said it will not implement full checks on incoming products for six months, while Calais has developed new infrastructure to facilitate the process, but both parties saw disruptions during testing in the months leading up to 2021. Industry representatives on the road The Transport Association has said it is bracing for the invisible chaos caused not by rear end, but by drivers being turned away for not having proper documentation. With hours left for Brexit to set in, the number of truckers applying for permits to enter Kent and cross the English Channel was 450, and the number passing through the county on an average day is approaching 10,000 . The first day was on wheels, now towards the future.
Additional PA reports
