Brexit ferry contract awarded to company with no ships

MaryBrosnan · 09-01-2019 12:02am

Invalid links ^

[Deleted User] · 09-01-2019 12:10am

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

we already knew that the getting the UK port up and running was unlikely

Well guess what ?
The mayor of Ostend has told the BBC the Belgian port will not be ready for a new ferry line in time for Brexit. :rolleyes:

Has anyone actually claimed otherwise?

Interesting article you may want to read here https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjnrNjbpt_fAhXfSxUIHbg2AWUQzPwBegQIARAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fgulliver%2F2019%2F01%2F07%2Fseaborne-freight-is-the-ferry-startup-that-journalists-love-to-hate&psig=AOvVaw0vxutAmABdtox1PLxMH2o7&ust=1547075293386613

Apologies for it not fitting the narrative though.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-01-2019 12:21am

Aegir wrote: »

Has anyone actually claimed otherwise?

The company and the UK govt have claimed that the company is viable.

UK law has the concept of Wrongful Trading, once the liabilities exceed the assets and there is no prospect of turning the company around it's game over.

At present this company has no way of providing the contracted service.
Today's vote in Westminster means it's harder to slush funds to them or accept price increases.

And yes it's a distraction from the complete car crash that Brexit has become.

bigar · 09-01-2019 1:11am

katiek102010 wrote: »

Ramsgate doesn’t have the appropriate infrastructure.

Neither has Ostend. I was only there over Christmas visiting family who happen to live near the harbour.

They used to have a daily ferry to Dover, and later Ramsgate, and that stopped many years ago. The docks and space used for embarkation has now been taken over by the huge installation ships for installing windmills at sea. The rest has been transformed into a large bus station and a parking lot. Changing all that back, even partly, will never be possible by March.

[Deleted User] · 09-01-2019 10:27am

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The company and the UK govt have claimed that the company is viable.

that isn't what i asked.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

UK law has the concept of Wrongful Trading, once the liabilities exceed the assets and there is no prospect of turning the company around it's game over.

what has that got to do with anything?

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

At present this company has no way of providing the contracted service.
Today's vote in Westminster means it's harder to slush funds to them or accept price increases.

what service are they contracted to provide?

Gadgetman496 · 09-02-2019 11:41am

UK cancels contract for extra ferries in no-deal Brexit.

https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2019/0209/1028504-seaborne-freight-britain/

Gadgetman496 · 12-02-2019 3:12pm

Govt was warned that Brexit ferry firm with no ships was 'high risk'.

https://news.sky.com/story/seaborne-freight-brexit-ferry-firm-was-identified-as-high-risk-nao-report-says-11635137

AndyBoBandy · 12-02-2019 3:20pm

Watching Channel 4 news the other day, Seabourne had claimed Arklow Shipping was a backer, whereas in reality, Arklow Shipping had merely only shown an interest in coming on board (pardon the pun), but that was as far as their involvement went.. nothing was signed or negotiated.

You couldn't make it up!!

[Deleted User] · 12-02-2019 3:48pm

its a shame sensationalist journalism has meant ferry services won't be running from Ramsgate for the foreseeable future.

end of the road · 12-02-2019 4:24pm

Aegir wrote: »

its a shame sensationalist journalism has meant ferry services won't be running from Ramsgate for the foreseeable future.

no, it is the company being unable to deliver on the contract, and the government not being more careful as to who they awarded the contract to, which has meant there won't be ferry services. supposed sensationalist journalism would make no difference and no amount of it would have stopped the services if the company actually had been able to deliver. the british government screwed up again, just like they always do.

[Deleted User] · 12-02-2019 4:58pm

end of the road wrote: »

no, it is the company being unable to deliver on the contract, and the government not being more careful as to who they awarded the contract to, which has meant there won't be ferry services. supposed sensationalist journalism would make no difference and no amount of it would have stopped the services if the company actually had been able to deliver. the british government screwed up again, just like they always do.

Seaborne were in discussions with the Harbour company about setting up a ferry service long before they were in discussions with the British government.

The $13m the Government offered was only if they got up and running and was designed to basically help a start up company get off the ground and get funding. Until the media got hold of it and turned it in to a Brexit/political hot potato.

it's a shame no one is doing anything similar in Dun Laoghaire.

have a read https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2018/06/18/ramsgate-port-has-made-losses-of-20million-over-eight-years/

end of the road · 12-02-2019 7:14pm

Aegir wrote: »

Seaborne were in discussions with the Harbour company about setting up a ferry service long before they were in discussions with the British government.

The $13m the Government offered was only if they got up and running and was designed to basically help a start up company get off the ground and get funding. Until the media got hold of it and turned it in to a Brexit/political hot potato.

it's a shame no one is doing anything similar in Dun Laoghaire.

have a read https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2018/06/18/ramsgate-port-has-made-losses-of-20million-over-eight-years/

sorry but there is no way i can believe the media are to blame for this contract being canceled. it just does not make any sense to me that a few headlines would cause the canceling of a contract. if the company were able to and did deliver this service then no amount of media headlines would have stopped them or caused that contract to be canceled as they would have delivered.
what i believe happened is that upon further checks the DFT decided that the company were unlikely to be able to deliver the service as contracted so rightly pulled the plug.

Capt'n Midnight · 12-02-2019 7:19pm

Don't put away the popcorn yet.

UK sued by Channel tunnel firms over Brexit ferry plans They're claiming it's an unfair subsidy for ferry companies.

The regulator forced Eurotunnel to shut down their own ferry company, MyFerryLink, a few years ago so I'd imagine they are a little miffed about the whole thing.

To quote something I saw elsewhere Brexit continues to be a f*cktacular omnishambles.

[Deleted User] · 13-02-2019 9:49am

end of the road wrote: »

sorry but there is no way i can believe the media are to blame for this contract being canceled. it just does not make any sense to me that a few headlines would cause the canceling of a contract. if the company were able to and did deliver this service then no amount of media headlines would have stopped them or caused that contract to be canceled as they would have delivered.
what i believe happened is that upon further checks the DFT decided that the company were unlikely to be able to deliver the service as contracted so rightly pulled the plug.

We'll never know, will we. The whole thing was ticking along, albeit very slowly, until the media turned it into a complete toxic **** show.

And now the town of Ramsgate is even less likely to have a ferry service than it was before.

end of the road · 13-02-2019 3:10pm

Aegir wrote: »

We'll never know, will we. The whole thing was ticking along, albeit very slowly, until the media turned it into a complete toxic **** show.

And now the town of Ramsgate is even less likely to have a ferry service than it was before.

in what way was the whole thing ticking along?
as i understand, the company had no ships, either owned or leased, and as i understand ramsgate port is only able to take a certain specification of ship so that limits the supply of potential ships to lease or buy. also the port i believe required a lot of other things to be sorted out before it could be suitible for a ferry service.
the service was to be up and running when, in march wasn't it? if the whole process was ticking along then surely there would have been something to show for it? so what was there to show for it? a ship? negotiations to lease or buy a ship from another operator who may be selling one that might be suitible to operate out of ramsgate? advertisements for staff? or maybe even staff already hired? some movement to get the port ready? anything? surely there must have been 1 thing at least, big or small?

[Deleted User] · 13-02-2019 3:51pm

end of the road wrote: »

in what way was the whole thing ticking along?
as i understand, the company had no ships, either owned or leased, and as i understand ramsgate port is only able to take a certain specification of ship so that limits the supply of potential ships to lease or buy. also the port i believe required a lot of other things to be sorted out before it could be suitible for a ferry service.
the service was to be up and running when, in march wasn't it? if the whole process was ticking along then surely there would have been something to show for it? so what was there to show for it? a ship? negotiations to lease or buy a ship from another operator who may be selling one that might be suitible to operate out of ramsgate? advertisements for staff? or maybe even staff already hired? some movement to get the port ready? anything? surely there must have been 1 thing at least, big or small?

you obviously didn't read the article I linked to.

branie2 · 13-02-2019 3:52pm

A ferry company with no ships? Daft, if you ask me

end of the road · 13-02-2019 4:12pm

Aegir wrote: »

you obviously didn't read the article I linked to.

i did but it only tells me that there are lots of different potential plans by the council, + they have been in negotiationss to put on a ferry service from the port with no success, since the previous operator seased operation. i'm unsure what point you were using the article to try and prove?

ohnonotgmail · 13-02-2019 5:57pm

Aegir wrote: »

Seaborne were in discussions with the Harbour company about setting up a ferry service long before they were in discussions with the British government.

The $13m the Government offered was only if they got up and running and was designed to basically help a start up company get off the ground and get funding. Until the media got hold of it and turned it in to a Brexit/political hot potato.

it's a shame no one is doing anything similar in Dun Laoghaire.

have a read https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2018/06/18/ramsgate-port-has-made-losses-of-20million-over-eight-years/

So basically Seaborne are the latest in a long line of failed attempts to re-establish a ferry service from ramsgate. Ticking along indeed.

[Deleted User] · 13-02-2019 6:19pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

So basically Seaborne are the latest in a long line of failed attempts to re-establish a ferry service from ramsgate. Ticking along indeed.

hence the government trying to support them with the offer of a £13m contract if they managed to get services up and running.

ohnonotgmail · 13-02-2019 6:23pm

Aegir wrote: »

hence the government trying to support them with the offer of a £13m contract if they managed to get services up and running.

Did they actually finish the dredging that was required?

[Deleted User] · 13-02-2019 6:33pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Did they actually finish the dredging that was required?

I can't see it from my office, but a ten second look at google tells me it has started

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/01/04/second-day-of-dredging-at-ramsgate-port-for-proposed-ferry-service/

Seth Brundle · 13-02-2019 8:31pm

Aegir wrote: »

I can't see it from my office, but a ten second look at google tells me it has started

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/01/04/second-day-of-dredging-at-ramsgate-port-for-proposed-ferry-service/

I kind if half expected a report about a dredging shelf company

ohnonotgmail · 13-02-2019 8:47pm

Aegir wrote: »

I can't see it from my office, but a ten second look at google tells me it has started

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/01/04/second-day-of-dredging-at-ramsgate-port-for-proposed-ferry-service/

i know it started. no mention anywhere that it has finished. Which is odd because it as due to finish at the end of january.

Capt'n Midnight · 01-03-2019 6:05pm

It's all sorted now.

The UK Government will be handing over £33m to a company that isn't allowed to operate ferries.

Capt'n Midnight · 26-04-2019 7:18pm

The latest in this saga is that finally a company with actual Ferries has entered the game.

P&O are now suing HMG over the handing over £33m to Eurotunnel.

If unlawful state aid is found, the government would have to recover the aid in full, with interest, and damages may be payable to P&O.

Brexit ferry contract awarded to company with no ships

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