18


RO-RO


Dover’s director of port operations, Robin Dodridge, insists that it does need to plan for Terminal 2, even in the current recessionary climate. Some ferry operators have asked why, with traffic at a low ebb, Dover Harbour Board is still pushing ahead in obtaining planning permission for Terminal 2. They suggest that it might not


be the only answer to increased traffic in future, arguing that the proposed Harbour Revision Order would set things in stone. However, while the drop in the


market in 2008 may have given some respite, the lorry parking issue hasn’t gone away, says Dodridge. “In fact, the parking issue is one of the things that made us interested in Terminal


P&O ploughs on with superferry launch...


P&O Ferries’ says that the arguments over Dover’s privatisation would not have any immediate effect on the operator’s retonnaging plans. The two new 50,000-tonne superferries, each with a capacity of up to 180 freight pieces, are due to be introduced in January and September 2011 and the first of the new ships was floated out in Finland on 8 June,


which also triggered the start of construction of the second. While almost twice as large


as anything that has been seen on the Dover/Calais route, they would still be able to operate into the existing terminal. P&O Ferries would not in any case want the new vessels to be limited to Terminal 2 as that would reduce operational flexibility.


2. It’s motivated as much by the need for lorry space as it is by berth space.” It’s unlikely, says Dodridge, that an off-port parking area will be created anywhere in Kent in the near future – the county is stuffed with Sites of Special Scientific Interest and is also one the main habitats of that uniquely British species, the Nimby.


Dover’s director of port development Mike Krayenbrink believes that, in the long term, growth will surely return to Dover and the port needs to be ready. The ‘do nothing’ option is unattractive, he says, because it could lead to almost permanent queues of trucks trying to get into the port. And when growth does return, congestion could


return equally rapidly. “Things can pick up remarkably quickly,” he says, “and geography will ensure that most of that growth in GDP will be reflected in Dover’s traffic. “ Dover MP Charlie Elphicke


has suggested handing the port over to a local community trust which would then lease it to a commercial operator. The


ISSUE 2 2010 Dover presses on with Terminal 2 plan


‘People’s Port’ plan has been suggested as an alternative to a full-blown privatisation of the trust port. The port’s chief executive, Bob Goldfield, welcomed the move, saying: “We remain of the belief that our proposals are the only practical means to achieve this, but will of course work with him and others locally to get the details right.”


...but Belgium dropped


P&O Ferries’ new route between Dover and Zeebrugge, Belgium proved to be short lived. The new service – which last featured in the schedules in 2002 - was operated briefly by the ro-pax vessel, European Endeavour in freighter mode with a capacity for up to 100 articulated lorries. The ship operated one round trip per day. However the vessel was then


pressed into service as a stop-gap passenger ship on the Dover- Calais route during the ash cloud incident and the decision was taken not to reinstate the service afterwards. A P&O spokesman said: “We


just didn’t get the demand to make it worthwhile so whilst it was worth trying it soon because obvious we were flogging a dead horse so we withdrew the ship at the end of April. The idea is to reconsider later in the year, should demand be stronger then, but in the meantime the ship is laid up.” P&O may not be serving Zeebrugge from Dover, but the


Belgian port is the terminal for P&O services from Hull and Zeebrugge. Freight on the Hull route is showing some signs of revival, though the Teesport- Zeebrugge service – which has been reduced to a single vessel operating every other day – is still suffering from the closure or mothballing of many of the steel and chemical plants on Teeside. However, there are reports that this service may also be increased again, following a revival in the chemical industry on Teesside. Zeebrugge also offers connecting


opportunities elsewhere, such as the Transfennica service to Bilbao in southern Spain. One bright star in the


P&O portfolio was the new Zeebrugge-Tilbury route which grew by around 50% last year. This was partly as a result of the rationalisation of other services, including Cobelfret’s takeover and closure, from 20 April, of the Dart Line service into Dartford, concentrating all the traffic on its Purfleet terminal on the north side of the Thames.


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