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Eurotunnel takes government to court over ferry contracts
The government is facing a legal challenge from Eurotunnel over contracts it awarded to three ferry companies as part of its preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Eurotunnel, which operates rail services between the UK and continental Europe, claims the contracts for the freight services were handed out in a ‘secretive’ way and that it was not given a chance to compete.
In a court case which starts today, it is aiming to get the contracts with Brittany Ferries and DFDS quashed. The £13.8 million contract with Seaborne Freight, a firm that has no ships and has never run a ferry service, has already been cancelled after one potential backer, Arklow Shipping, pulled out of the deal.
The Department for Transport (DfT) contracted the three companies last December to provide additional freight capacity for lorries at ports other than Dover to avoid congestion on roads down to the coast in the event that Britain’s exit from the UK caused delays at its main port.
In documents outlining the agreements, the DfT stated that an ‘unforeseeable’ situation of ‘extreme urgency’ meant there was no time for the contracts to be put out to tender.
In January, Eurotunnel wrote to transport secretary Chris Grayling to complain that it had not been considered when the contracts were awarded. It argued that, unlike Seaborne, it has run a cross-Channel ferry service, MyFerryLink, although this closed in 2015, and should have been approached.
The company also claims that the government had ample time to conduct a full and open procurement process, and that the DfT could have foreseen a no-deal Brexit well before the end of last year.
For its part, the government will argue that it was not aware that Eurotunnel was in a position to get a ferry service up and running in time for Brexit, and that it approached all of the companies which currently operate ferries between the UK and the rest of Europe.
It will also claim it was not seeking extra rail capacity, and in any case, the purpose of the contracts were to divert lorries away from Eurotunnel’s base in Dover or Folkestone, and towards other ports.
The court case is expected to conclude next week. If the court finds in Eurotunnel’s favour, the contracts with Brittany Ferries and DFDS could be ruled ‘ineffective’.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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