Port Of Calais News

Danish shipping company DFDS announced it has committed to investing in battery-powered vessels to help decarbonize the maritime traffic across the English Channel.Following a meet between French Minister for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Olivier Becht and CEO of DFDS, Torben Carlsen, in October, DFDS said it will invest in the innovation and technology necessary to and deploy a fleet of battery-powered vessels in the English Channel by 2030.“We have…

Long queues of holidaymakers and lorries built up on Saturday outside the Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, and officials said the disruption could be worse than the logjam seen on Friday.Travelers setting out at the start of the British school summer holidays, as well as the usual flow of goods lorries, have faced long delays because of slow border checks.The Kent Resilience Forum, which brings together local councils and emergency services, declared a "major incident"…

Two ferry operators on the English Channel on Tuesday announced a deal to make freight space on their Dover-Calais ships available to one another to maintain customer service levels on the route and ensure its continued resilience.Under the space charter agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS, freight drivers can arrive at either the Port of Dover or Port of Calais and board the next available sailing, irrespective of whether the ferry is operated by either company.David Stretch…

In line with the commitments of the PA2D (Sustainable Development and Action Plan), Dunkerque-Port has just received the EcoPorts network's PERS certification (Port Environmental Review System), granted by the ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation). This environmental management certification, specific to the port sector, attests to correct compliance with current rules and standards, and rewards involvement in projects and initiatives for better environmental performance in ports. This European recognition also stresses the environmental and innovative actions that have been carried out by Dunkerque-Port for nearly ten years as part of its activities.

French fishermen blockaded Calais on Thursday, halting shipping movements at France's busiest passenger port and a major entry point to Europe for British goods, in protest at losses inflicted by the practice of electric pulse fishing. A small flotilla of fishing vessels set out at dawn from Boulogne and others were expected to join from Dunkirk, said fisherman Stephane Pinto. "The Port of Calais is closed due to French fisherman blockade. Currently no ship movements in the port," P&O Ferries Freight said on Twitter. A Calais port spokeswoman said negotiations were underway and that port authorities expected the blockade would be lifted by midday.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) congratulated the Port Boulogne Calais for achieving the Port Environmental Review System (PERS) certification, the only port sector specific environmental management standard provided by the EcoPorts Network. The PERS certificate was handed over to the port during the ESPO General Assembly by the ESPO Chairman, Eamonn O’Reilly, the ESPO Secretary General, Isabelle Ryckbost and the EcoPorts Coordinator, Sotiris Raptis. Compliance with the PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance and the certificate has a validity of two years. There are currently 25 ports in Europe and its neighbouring countries in the EcoPorts Network certified by PERS.

The Port of Calais had to be temporarily closed after dozens of refugees and migrants stormed on to a ship in the hope of reaching the UK. About 50 people made their way on to a P&O-operated vessel called Spirit of Britain. British anarchists were among some 35 people under arrest in Calais on Sunday after leading a 'scandalous' invasion of the ferry port by some 500 migrants. Police attended the incident, which was resolved later in the evening and the port reopened. Services to and from Calais had been severely disrupted while it was dealt with. The BBC quoted Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart as saying 50 asylum-seekers had boarded a P&O ferry while it was unloading. It said the police were on the scene.

Around 200 refugees managed to break into the port of Calais in northern France on Saturday after a demonstration of support for migrants living in a slum nearby ended, enabling some of them to board the front deck of a British ferry, an official said. "A demonstration in Calais has drawn around 2,000 people and in the end around 200 people entered the port, with approximately 50 of them boarding a ferry, the 'Spirit of Britain', on an external deck," deputy Calais prefect Denis Gaudin told Reuters. MS Spirit of Britain is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries. Gaudin said that some of the refugees had decided to quit the boat voluntarily and that the rest would be removed by police, if necessary by force.

A deal was reached on Monday to save hundreds of ferry jobs at the northern French port of Calais, the French transport minister said, ending a dispute that has disrupted traffic through the Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain. Workers at ferry service MyFerryLink had intermittently blocked the port and the tunnel in recent weeks in a protest over job cuts, after the company, previously owned by Eurotunnel , was sold to Denmark's DFDS. The dispute has added to public order concerns in Calais…

Protesting ferry-workers blocked road access to the northern French port of Calais with burning tyres on Friday, police said. The workers have in recent weeks intermittently blocked the port and sometimes the Channel Tunnel in a protest over job cuts after tunnel operator Eurotunnel agreed to sell its MyFerryLink ferry unit to Danish-owned DFDS. The French government has sought to intervene and propose a solution, but no accord has yet been found. The dispute has added to disruption around the northern port, also struggling to deal with nightly attempts by hundreds of migrants to sneak through the tunnel into Britain. (Reporting by Pierre Savary

The French government unveiled proposals on Thursday to save local ferry jobs and end a stand-off in the port of Calais in northern France that has repeatedly disrupted traffic in the Channel Tunnel. Some 500 workers at ferry service MyFerryLink have blocked traffic around the port in a protest aimed at preventing job cuts after their company, previously owned by Eurotunnel , was sold to a Danish company, DFDS. The Transport Ministry proposals include a commitment by Eurotunnel to establish a ferry charter contract that will save 150 jobs. DFDS will also hire 230 MyferryLink workers and the ministry said it would seek employment options for remaining workers within three months.

Protesting ferry workers temporarily blocked French road access to the undersea rail tunnel linking France to Britain on Tuesday, a Eurotunnel spokesman said. Employees of the Eurotunnel-owned MyFerryLink service - whose ferries the company plans to sell - brought traffic in the tunnel to a standstill for a whole day last month, also disrupting seabound travel from the port of Calais, in protest at the sale. Syndicat Maritime Nord union spokesman Eric Vercoutre said the blockade of the A16 road into the tunnel was now at an end, but that another one was planned for this afternoon. A spokesman for France's road traffic authority said short stoppages were likely to take place throughout the day.

Britain is to create a 'secure zone' at the French port of Calais to protect lorries heading for England from migrants seeking to enter the country illegally, interior minister Theresa May said on Tuesday. Around 3,000 migrants, fleeing war, political turmoil and poverty are camped in Calais and make daily attempts to board lorries and trains heading towards Britain. The problem has been exacerbated in recent weeks by a French ferry workers' strike which has blocked traffic around the port.

The Channel Tunnel closed again on Tuesday due to protesting MyFerryLink workers, its operator Eurotunnel and French traffic supervision body Bison Fute said. The entrance to the tunnel was blocked by angry workers who set fire to tyres thrown on the tracks, a Reuters witness said. Employees at MyFerryLink, the ferry service recently sold by Eurotunnel maintained their blockade of the northern French port of Calais for a second day on Tuesday after a court rejected their bid to extend a charter contract with Eurotunnel. The MyFerryLink workers argue the court decision jeopardises hundreds of jobs at their company. Reporting by Matthias Blamont

Employees of a ferry service recently sold by Eurotunnel renewed a blockade of the northern French port of Calais on Monday after a court rejected their bid to extend the service's charter contract with Eurotunnel. Access to the boats on the docks was not possible in the afternoon, said union and port sources. Strike action by around 400 workers last week led to major traffic jams of lorries, prompting migrants around the port to try and stowaway on trucks bound for Britain. Eurotunnel, the operator of the undersea rail link between England and France, in June agreed to sell its Calais-to-Dover ferry business to Denmark's DFDS to end a lengthy battle with British competition authorities.

A strike by French ferry workers is causing travel chaos in the south of England and Eurostar services from London are experiencing long delays. Calais strike is over - but motorists still face lengthy delays. Sailings have been resumed following the protests and the Channel Tunnel has reopened after protesting French ferry workers got on to the tracks. All services to and from the UK Port of Dover have been affected by the strike. Workers at MyFerryLink have voted in favour of ending the industrial action and return to work after blockading the Port of Calais, as well as having Eurotunnel services suspended. Traffic jams are mounting on motorway stretches near Dover as lorries destined for Calais wait until service resumes.

Traffic was halted through the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France on Tuesday after striking French ferry workers set fire to tires, while Britain's Foreign Office warned of migrants trying to get into vehicles queuing to enter the tunnel. British television showed large crowds of migrants trying to board waiting lorries, while others were held back by riot police. Around 400 workers blockaded the port of Calais to protest restructuring at its MyFerryLink division, the Syndicat Maritime Nord union said. Shipping was halted early in the day, the Calais port authority said. Both Eurotunnel and Eurostar later suspended their services because of the disruption.

Striking French ferry workers blockaded the port of Calais on Tuesday morning, disrupting maritime traffic and Eurotunnel's undersea rail link with Britain in protest at restructuring at its MyFerryLink division, port officials said. Shipping halted early in the day, the Calais port authority said. Eurotunnel said the industrial action had reduced its shuttle train services which transport passengers and heavy trucks between Calais and Folkestone. "Traffic is disrupted but there are still trains running," a Eurotunnel spokesman said. About 400 workers were on strike, the Syndicat Maritime Nord union said. The union opposes plans by Eurotunnel to sell two of MyFerryLink's three passenger vessels to Denmark's DFDS  and convert the third to freight, cutting jobs.

Two Lithuanian illegal immigrants tried to float to Britain on an inflatable mattress but were spotted at sea and taken back to France. The two men were sighted some seven miles (11 km) off the French coast at 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) by crew aboard a P&O ferry heading to the French port of Calais. The ferry dispatched a lifeboat to pick them up and handed them over to French border police on arrival in Calais, a spokesman for the French Regional Operation Centre for Sea Surveillance and Rescue said. As many as 400 illegal immigrants a month arrive in Britain from France on Channel tunnel trains, and nearly 2,500 have been caught trying to board P&O Stena Line ferries since checks were introduced eight months ago. - (Reuters)

Sixty-eight suspected illegal immigrants, including two pregnant women and 15 children, were discovered hidden in lorries at one of Britain's largest ports, officials said on Friday. The group was found on Thursday night at Harwich International Port in eastern England during a search of four vehicles which had been on a ferry from the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. The East of England Ambulance Service said seven of the group were taken to hospital suffering from abdominal and chest pains and were feeling faint, although none was said to be in a life-threatening condition. Local media reported two of them were pregnant. They were later released after treatment and all 68 - 35 Afghans, 22 Chinese, 10 Vietnamese and one Russian - were handed over to Border Agency officials.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued the summary of its preliminary examination of the allision of a ro-ro passenger ferry with a linkspan in the Port of Calais on 29 August 2008. While leaving port, the ferry suffered a brownout (a partial loss of electrical power). This resulted in the loss of the starboard main engines and the momentary disconnection of the bridge control system. Power was quickly restored and the maneuvering controls were reset to zero. The ferry, though, began to move ahead. The anchors were let go and the main engine emergency stops were activated, but not in time to prevent the ferry from alluding with the linkspan on an adjacent berth.