News


P&O chaos is disrupting freight and international supply chains


THE FERRY OPERATOR P&O’s controversial mass-firing of 800 employees without warning is impacting on cross- Channel freight and UK exporters and importers, warns the international delivery specialist ParcelHero. ParcelHero is also warning that the ongoing suspension of services could have serious implications for Great Britain – Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland (ROI) shipments, during a period of already intense disruption. ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks


M.I.L.T., says: “P&O is not just a passenger ferry operator, its freight services are hugely important for UK supply chains and businesses. It carries around 15% of all freight in and out of the UK, more than 2,000 businesses use its services and it operates a third of the cross channel ferry market. “At the beginning of 2020, P&O operated nine major freight


routes with 350 departures a week operating 16 vessels. Last year it shipped 2.2 million freight units. Its services are also closely connected to sister company P&O Ferrymasters, which specialises in shipments from parcels to full loads, though these are not all reliant on ferry services. “P&O itself admits: “There will be significant disruption


across P&O Ferries services over the next few days.” That’s perhaps the one thing it has got right. Of course, other operators, such as DFDS, are stepping in to help fill the gap, but there is inevitable disruption.”


War accelerates Russia’s aim


to block VPNs ACCORDING TO ANALYSIS by Cybersecurity specialist, Surfshark, the Russian telecoms regulator (Roskomnadzor) has forced Google to delist more than 36,000 URLs that link to VPN services over the past month. The most significant spike of requests was recorded amid the second week of the war, when the Kremlin banned various media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, while others left due to a “fake news” law. In the same week, VPNs usage skyrocketed, reaching a 3500% increase in sales compared to the pre-war rate, showed Surfshark’s internal data. During the first week of the war, there was a slight increase of 7% in requests aiming to delist URLs related to VPNs. These came under Russian federal law 276-FZ, commonly referred to as the “VPN law”. In the second week of the invasion, when the Kremlin announced the blockade of Western media, this number grew by 55%.


“A rapid surge in downloads means that people living in Russia are actively looking for ways to avoid government surveillance and censorship, be it accessing blocked websites or social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. As the number of shut-down websites grows every day, VPN services act as a window to reach unbiased information and untracked communication channels”, says Gabriele Racaityte, Head of PR at Surfshark.


10 | March 2022 www.pcr-online.biz


PCR’s May issue Rising Stars of the Industry last call for entries!


PCR’S MAY ISSUE will be featuring our hugely popular Under 30’s Rising Stars of the Industry.


The two top candidates will be selected and each will receive a ticket to this year’s PCR Awards plus the opportunity to be interviewed, which will be published in the print issue of PCR and online.


THIS IS AN URGENT CALL FOR NOMINATIONS AS THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS FRIDAY 15TH APRIL!


From vendors to distributors to retailers, there is a mass of young talent across all areas of the UK IT and tech channel. It’s a great opportunity to award industry colleagues for the hard work they have accomplished. The list is even open to self-nominations. To enter just email your nomination to Michelle Winny at michelle.winny@biz-media.co.uk


Your nomination must include all of the following in a single email:


• Your name (if nominating yourself) or your nominee’s name (if nominating a colleague)


• A high-resolution headshot of the nominee • Company name and full job title


• A paragraph on why you/they should earn a place in this year’s Under 30 Rising Starts of the Industry Award. • Age (must still be under the age of 30 on 1st June) Incomplete applications will not be considered.


DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES FRIDAY 15TH APRIL


DON’T MISS THIS FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO STAND OUT AND SHINE!


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