Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Mayor of Ostend before awarding a contract to Seaborne Freight to operate ferry services from Ramsgate to Ostend from 29 March; and given the Mayor’s statement that the port will not be ready in time, what alternative port arrangements they intend to make.
Port contracts are a matter for operators. Operators on other routes (including Brittany Ferries and DFDS with whom the Government has also contracted) will be used for scheduled ro-ro traffic if Ostend is not ready by 29 March. The majority of the additional freight capacity which has been contracted is not via Ostend.