

(Posted on 24/04/18)
The British Ports Association has written to the UK Prime Minister calling for funding guarantees for any new border facilities and digital infrastructure, which may be needed after the UK leaves the European Union. There are concerns from the industry that those ports with EU traffic will need to provide new facilities and digital infrastructure for government officials to carry out customs and other border checks.
In the letter, Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive of the British Ports Association said: “There are around 30 Government agencies or organisations which can carry out procedures at ports and we expect there to be both physical and digital infrastructure requirements at the border to accommodate any new arrangements following Brexit. It is critical that these agencies are prepared for new Brexit regime and that the infrastructure those arrangements will require is in place in time. Last Autumn’s Budget Statement included significant funding for Brexit preparations and we are seeking your assurances that this will cover the resourcing of these physical facilities and not just additional staff so as not to introduce further potential negative impacts on ports.”
Of particular concern is the traffic traveling via the UK’s Roll-on Roll-off ferry ports, such as Dover, Holyhead, Portsmouth and a number of terminals with links to the continent and Ireland. Such ports facilitate in excess of 10,000 lorry journeys between the UK and the EU each day, representing 22% of the UK’s entire maritime trade and the majority of the UK’s EU traffic. The Association represents almost all of these ports and terminals, which almost exclusively on EU routes and therefore do not presently have the facilities for customs officials and other borders agencies.
Mr Ballantyne continued: “To truly achieve the Government’s ambition of frictionless trade, it will be important to ports that the only passenger and freight checks that take place at the border itself are those that cannot possibly be done elsewhere. We would also expect that facilities are shared to prevent new requirements causing additional disruption or duplicate infrastructure being built.”
Pilbara Ports has launched a new initiative aimed at enhancing seafarer welfare by improving onboard... Read more
SSA Marine, one of the world’s leading independent marine terminal operators, has announced that... Read more
Inbound Release Platform (IRP) has been operating since 1 April 2025. This innovative solution, which... Read more
Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale), along with its local partner Novel Muscat, has been awarded the contract... Read more
Participants at the first German-Estonian Port Days, have demonstrated the impressive way in which bilateral... Read more
One of the UK’s major port groups, PD Ports has announced its ambition to develop one of the UK... Read more
Port of Amsterdam has achieved its CO? reduction target. The Port of Amsterdam aimed to reduce its corporate... Read more
Nectar Sierra Leone Bulk Terminal (NSBT) is celebrating the operational launch of a new third berth... Read more
Greenhouse gas emissions at companies in the port decreased by 1.7 Mton (8%) in 2024 compared to 2023... Read more
Following the UK government’s passing of an emergency law to take control of British Steel, vital... Read more