Relief for supply chains as fears of people handling congestion at Dover ease

Changes to the handling of holidaymakers travelling from Dover to France could mean a small win for British supply chains as the country seeks to rebuild ties with the EU.

Yesterday, the new UK government confirmed that French border officials will be allowed to process passengers at Dover’s expanded Western Docks, ahead of the introduction of the EU’s new Entry Exit System (EES).

Nichola Mallon, head of trade and devolved policy at Logistics UK, welcomed the decision, describing “anything that helps to ease congestion at the Port of Dover” as positive.

British logistics sources had warned that the looming changes to the EES, which will require every non-EU citizen to physically register their biometric data at the border, could lead to chaos and disruption to the supply chain, “particularly in the short strait” of Dover-Calais.

Following Labour’s election victory this month, the EU offered a reprieve by temporarily postponing the introduction of the EES, initially for a month, from 6 October to 10 November. However, the launch was later moved from a fixed date to the “autumn”.

For those in the logistics sector, the delay and the fact that the UK has now opened its western docks to French border guards is a positive sign.

A source said The Loadstar it gave signs that the frosty post-Brexit relations were thawing, with one carrier adding that it indicated EU commissioners had “got over their grumbling” following Brexit.

The carrier said The Loadstar: “In the long run, they will do what is in the EU’s interest, namely smooth trade between the EU and its largest customer.”

While the decision has allayed some concerns, both Ms Mallon and Richard Ballantyne of the British Ports Association reiterated that the best way to avoid chaos is to remove the need to collect biometric data at the port, rather than at remote locations.

Mr. Ballantyne said The Loadstar: “To mitigate any potential issues, an app-based solution that enables remote and advance uploading of biometric and other information appears to be the most appropriate solution, but this requires some further and accelerated work.”

Ms Mallon urged the government to share its data analysis and scenario modelling around EES implementation so that industry can better coordinate.

She added: “It is now vital that the government does everything it can to ensure a phased approach to the planned rollout of EES this autumn, and that the industry is given clarity on what measures will be put in place to reduce congestion and disruption.”