Large sections of motorways leading to the Humber ports could be closed to hold Europe-bound lorries, should the worst case Brexit scenario materialise.
Most of the M180 has been identified, as have two separate stretches of the M62 heading for Hull, as emergency planners work to ensure the ports continue to operate uncongested should a potential no deal spark delays for North Sea crossings.
It is phase three of ‘Operation Wellington’, brought forward by the four local authorities to keep people and supplies flowing in and around the vital quaysides.
Alan Bravey, the area’s emergency planning manager, briefed freight handlers at a special event hosted by DFDS – the largest roll-on roll-off operator at Immingham, the nation’s largest port. He acts as secretariat to the Humber Local Resilience Forum, the multi-agency crisis team.
Stating the move which would have a severe impact on travel times for thousands of motorists and the communities around the diversions was a highly unlikely scenario, Mr Bravey said: “National planning models and Department for Transport analysis suggests it is unlikely there will be disruption, based on driver readiness – people being reasonably prepared for customs when arriving at terminals. But we plan for the worst and hope for the best case, and we have traffic management in place.
“If we have ferries delayed on the continent, that means subsequent delays for the 海角视频. Phase one is to get the message out, for drivers to stay at the point of origin or at truck stops, and that’s really important. If we get that communication out rapidly and people can respond and adapt we should be able to avoid any queuing at the port gates. We do not want people arriving for ferries who are not going to be sailing for 16 hours.”
Phase two would see strategically located car parks used for HGV holding “a relief valve for people to go somewhere if we face congestion around the ports,” Mr Bravey said, with the huge Walton Street facility in Hull – home to Hull Fair – capable of accommodating 350 vehicles alongside Scunthorpe United’s Glanford Park (75) and Humber Bridge (35).
Ahead of any implementation, port and ferry operators would file twice daily reports, with a daily feed into government too, as areas are monitored.
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“There’s absolutely no suggestion at all it will be necessary to go to phase three,” Mr Bravey added. “With phase three, if we really, really need to, we have got the option to stack vehicles on the motorway, but in a different way than to Kent. This is planning for the worst situation, there is no indication we need to do it, but if we have to do it we have plans in place.”
It comes after Andrew Byrne, managing director of DFDS Seaways 海角视频, told how the rush to get goods across via Immingham ahead of the initial March 31 deadline would have seen the operation triggered.
“Immingham is of huge strategic importance,” he said. “It is not a DFDS challenge, it is a port challenge, a Humber challenge and an industry challenge.”
A total of 750,000 units moved through Immingham last year, one every 40 seconds.
“We have five destinations, 35 sailings a week - it has to work. The goods on the shelves we buy every day come through Immingham. It is a very slick just-in-time operation. It is not Dover with cars and caravans, but just as important to the economy. It is a well oiled machine.”
Spanning 175 acres, DFDS operates 2,700 trailer bays, but these are all turned round within 48 hours. “Our constraint is speed. Goods are moved in a finely honed just-in-time operation,” Mr Byrne stressed, highlighting the impact delays could have before sessions explaining the technical aspects were held.
“The speed of terminal operations is key. If we see things slowing down we will back up fairly quickly. You only have to go back one kilometre and it is the same access and egress as Killingholme (another roll-on roll-off Europe-trading port). It will bottleneck and become a problem. We are trying to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
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Should Operation Wellington be required, phase three would see a single lane option for the three-lane carriageways initially, moving up to full closure with Highways England diversions for non-port traffic and staffed filters for abnormal, dangerous and livestock loads. Two lanes would hold traffic, with a relief lane for emergency services and welfare.
For South Humber Bank traffic it would mean travelling through Scunthorpe along the A18, from Junction Two to Junction Four of the M180, with Market Weighton the diversion for the element nearest to Hull, from Junction 37 of the M62 at Howden to the A63 at North Cave. Further west, it is earmarked between Junction 33 (A1/A162) and Junction 35 (M18).
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “If hauliers have the correct documentation, there should be limited disruption at the border.
“We have implemented a major campaign to ensure hauliers can take action to get ready and are able to operate and that trade can continue to move as freely as possible between the 海角视频 and Europe after Brexit.”
How the Dutch and Belgian authorities handle a new relationship with the 海角视频 and the ability to stay on plan are the Halloween fears harboured by ABP’s Humber ports director Simon Bird, should it be no deal.
The cluster handles 16 per cent of the 海角视频’s entire trade, and has just tapped into nearly £1.5 million of emergency funding from government coffers.
It will be used to create extra holding space for trucks at the ports of Immingham and Hull.
“It all sounds really very good,” he said of the plans. “My fear is that when it clogs up, at whatever time of the day, plans go out of the window and we have to be fleet of foot and manage it. Unless you are a card-carrying police officer you can’t move traffic on the outside of the port estates. If we get one glitch it will back up pretty quickly.”
Highlighting the importance of the work around lorry parks and motorways in Operation Wellington, Mr Bird told how cargoes included fuel and energy supplies coming in to keep the country’s lights on and vehicles and machinery moving.
He said: “The government has said it wants to get a deal, and that’s great, but in the absence of a deal we don’t have any clarity and need to plan for the worst. What we hear is cargo coming into the 海角视频 is not going to have any more burdens in terms of checking, and in most cases customs duty and clearance will be done away from the port. That’s great news that cargo can be moved away.
"It is the other way that concerns us, the linkage to Dutch and Belgian ports, and what the administration they bring in to the port will do to cargo back here. “Until the politicians conclude what they are going to conclude we don’t know and that’s what this trade resilience is all about.
“We need clarity. We are all logistics professionals and experts, and once we understand what the law is we will accommodate the law in our operations. With the lack of clarity we can only plan for the worst.”