UK government cancels Brexit ferry deals

The Department for Transport is cancelling contracts to provide extra ferry services after Brexit. Ending the contracts with Brittany Ferries and DFDS could cost the taxpayer more than £50m. The government bought £89m worth of capacity from the two firms. Some of that capacity might be sold, but millions of pounds could be lost. The contracts were designed to ease pressure on the port of Dover, by creating extra services at other ports. In February, the DfT was forced to axe its £13.8m contract with a third company, Seaborne Freight, which the BBC found had never sailed a vessel. Earlier this year, the National Audit Office estimated that the cancellation costs of all the ferry contracts would be £56.6m. The cost is likely to only be several million pounds less than this. A government spokesperson said: 'The termination of these contracts has resulted in less cost to the taxpayer than the termination costs reported by the NAO.' The government was also forced to pay £33m to Eurotunnel, to settle a case which challenged the procurement process for the ferry contracts. In addition, the DfT is now facing legal action from P&O Ferries, which says its rival, Eurotunnel, was given a competitive advantage by the government.