The UK government has awarded £107.7m ($136.4m) of contracts to Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Seaborne Freight to run additional cross-Channel ferries in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The decision to award such a contract to Seaborne Freight, a British start-up company with no ships, led to criticism. It’s a new start-up business, government is supporting new British business and there is nothing wrong with that. In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hammond said that he had been "surprised" by the amount of money being spent on ferry services. Seaborne has been planning to introduce ferry crossings leaving Ramsgate from early 2019, while other new routes will depart from Felixstowe, Immingham, Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth.
The UK government has awarded £107.7m ($136.4m) of contracts to Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Seaborne Freight to run additional cross-Channel ferries in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The decision to award such a contract to Seaborne Freight, a British start-up company with no ships, led to criticism. In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hammond said that he had been "surprised" by the amount of money being spent on ferry services. Seaborne has been planning to introduce ferry crossings leaving Ramsgate from early 2019, while other new routes will depart from Felixstowe, Immingham, Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth.