Rotterdam Port
‘On average, less than 50% of goods are shipped from Rotterdam to the United Kingdom at all terminals,’ says Brexit expert Mark Dijk. ‘This may largely be due to fears of Brexit transporters and logistics companies. In general, everything went smoothly, but there were also truck drivers who were not ready, so no advance notice was arranged via port base. In such a case, the drivers had to be taken to a Brexit emergency parking lot. Customs documents can then be arranged there. The driver is officially given 24 hours to do this, but in practice it takes one and a half to two hours, which means they can usually reach the same boats. ‘
‘The traffic cycle organized by Rijkswaterstad also went according to plan. For example, we have no problem with traffic jams. Occupancy rates for parking spaces ranged from 10 to 20% capacity. Also, shortcia works better, but so far none of the larger modules. Shipping companies that do not produce everything have problems every time, but it is manageable. The export process is fine. ‘According to Dijkin, the biggest problems come from the UK.
According to Dijkin, the Department of Transportation sometimes does not seem to want to withdraw cargo from the UK. ‘This also applies to empty containers because you have to abide by certain rituals. For example, fewer containers may return to Rotterdam. In addition, there are very few customs officers in the UK. Like parking lots, the British are far behind in products for customs officers than we are. We started on February 1, 2018 last year, while they needed five thousand extra men. ‘
North Sea Port
Spokesman Johann Presleylers said there was no additional parking pressure. ‘No traffic jams. So we don’t have to open the planned Brexit car parks. The products of the companies in the North Sea port and those who use our port clearly have an effect. Due to the lack of ferry lines in the North Sea port, Brexit, with its border controls and customs systems, had little immediate impact. However, the United Kingdom is still an important trading partner for us. ‘
Port of Amsterdam
According to Mark Hullwerf, Regional Manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland, the port of Amsterdam has been operating well since Brexit. ‘In January it will always be quiet in terms of size, so there is more room to deal with issues. Thus the additional steps to be taken by the terminals could be reasonably dealt with. Because there were problems. Before the container can be transferred from one mode of transport to another, new forms must first be filled out. This is an additional administrative burden, which naturally requires a new work method. And that takes a while. It is especially important to realize among ship exporters that these types of extra steps are necessary. The port base is important for cooperation between ports and terminals. At the port of Amsterdam, companies also help each other if needed. ‘
At the end of January, Chomsky launched the scheduled service to Amsterdam-Dublin with DMA. Hoolwerf: ‘This is a good signal for a shortcut. This is an alternative to trucking to Liverpool and then taking boats to Dublin. Many more alternatives are now being sought to bypass the United Kingdom as there is great pressure on that country. While this was not the only motivation for setting up a regular service, it certainly had a role to play in the end. The ambition is, if it is to be successful, to grow to more places in Ireland. The UK has always been and will be our largest trading partner, no doubt about it, but new connections are being made. Because especially by truck, connections to the UK are very difficult. ‘
Port of Murdoch
Annette von Kettle, Ports Mortgage’s Commercial Logistics Manager, speaks on behalf of A2B-Online and CCD Moorthijk about the effects of Brexit on ‘their’ port. ‘The general picture is that European shipping exporters have produced better than English companies. Luckily we didn’t have a jam at the gate of CCD Moortiz, so everything was handled normally at the forecast. We do not have a large number of drivers who came to the gate without proper documentation. Some, but not hundreds. Maximum ten. There were significant delays on the English side for handling. We see guided traffic, ro / ro traffic, moving towards containers. ‘
Port of Den Helder
Pim Wisser, director of Wisnet, a fishing interest organization, talks to Den Helder about the effects of Brexit. ‘The problem with fishing ports is that they have to be designated by the Dutch government as a‘ dedicated landing port for third country vessels ’. Den Helder is not on that list and the government refuses to add the port. The reason they put forward is said to be a lack of efficiency in the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, but they cannot prove it. This deprives Cope von Noord-Holland of the possibility of economic activity surrounding British ships. Yards are also affected by this because fishing vessels heading to the yard from the United Kingdom can no longer die their catches at Den Helter. ‘
Moreover, according to Wisser, the sector has suffered a major psychological blow. On the last night of the talks the fisheries turned into a change. In that last phase, the British were granted less than six hundred tons of fishing rights annually. This makes it even more difficult for port users such as Texel and Den Helder to fish. The fear that this will happen again in five years of negotiations is certainly realistic. ‘
Incidentally, according to the port of Denehelder, the agents active in the port of Denehelder also indicate that the customs systems have become more complex, which they believe results in longer, time-consuming procedures.
