UK Port of Dover says it’s ready for no-deal Brexit disruption

Bloomberg

The Port of Dover — through which a sixth of the UK’s trade in goods flows — can cope with any disruption thrown up by a no-deal Brexit, Chief Executive Officer Doug Bannister said, suggesting some of the direr predictions of chaos are wide of the mark.
“The Port of Dover is 100 percent ready,” he said in an interview in his harbour-side office with views of the town’s castle, its famous white cliffs, its all-important port, and — across the English Channel — France. “Ferry operators: 100 percent ready. Calais, Dunkirk: 100 percent ready.”
Bannister’s assessment is a boost to the government’s efforts to portray Britain as Brexit-ready, even after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced by parliament to publish details of “worst-case scenario” projections under no-deal Brexit planning dubbed Operation Yellowhammer.
That portrayed a country in crisis, with nationwide protests, shortages of some medicines and fresh foods, and a huge drop-off in trade flowing through Dover.
That’s not to say Bannister sees everything going smoothly. He said he expects some disruption and added he still has no clarity on what “the rules of the game” will be after Brexit. It’s as close as he came to criticism of the government.
Along with the rest of the country, he still doesn’t know the shape of Britain’s departure. Will it be a no-deal Brexit?
Will there be a customs union or a trade deal? Each potential outcome will deliver a different trading environment. Traders need to know what documentation will be required with freight consignments — and when it’ll be needed. What duties will be payable and when by?
“Once the rules of the game are known business will adapt, and they will adapt very, very swiftly,” he said. And when does he expect them?
“If the run-up to March 29 is any indicator of when that might be, it will be on the day,” he said — a reference to the original deadline for Brexit.
Bannister also warned that some things are unknowable until Brexit happens.
French customs controls take place in Calais, so trucks with their UK export papers in order may yet find their French import papers aren’t. Calais has the capacity to park 300 trucks with incorrect papers in a holding area, but once that’s full, it could prevent more freight from coming over, leading to repercussions in Dover.
“The challenge is, does the flow of unprepared lorries exceed the capacity for the system to be able to handle that?” Bannister said. “And that is an uncertainty that we’ll have to wait
and see how it turns out on the day.”
Johnson has pledged to take Britain out of the European Union “do or die,” with or without a deal, on October 31 — even after Parliament legislated to force him to delay Brexit should he fail to secure a new agreement.
If Britain does crash out of the bloc, and some of the direst predictions come true, Dover could be the most visible manifestation of chaos.
The port handles $150 billion of trade per year, processing 120 ferry-loads and 10,000 trucks a day.