Northern Ireland

Sinn Féin slams 'chaotic' Brexit after government gave ferry contract to company with no ships

Sinn Féin's Chris Hazzard has criticised the British government's "chaotic" Brexit response. Picture by Hugh Russell
Sinn Féin's Chris Hazzard has criticised the British government's "chaotic" Brexit response. Picture by Hugh Russell Sinn Féin's Chris Hazzard has criticised the British government's "chaotic" Brexit response. Picture by Hugh Russell

SINN Féin has hit out at the British government's "chaotic" Brexit response following revelations it had awarded a ferry contract to a company with no ships.

Seaborne Freight was awarded a £13.8m contract to run a freight service between Ramsgate in England and Ostend in Belgium in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The firm has never run a ferry service and a Tory councillor for Ramsgate questioned if the new service could be set up before the UK leaves the EU in March.

Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard warned that the north and Republic "should not be collateral damage in this reckless agenda".

"Confirmation that a £13.9m ferry contract has been awarded to a company with no ships is only the latest calamity in the Brexit pantomime," he said.

He added: "This chaotic, disjointed approach has been typical of the British government’s approach to Brexit ever since the referendum result in June 2016.

"Citizens in the north overwhelmingly rejected Brexit and Ireland should not be collateral damage in this reckless agenda.

"A no-deal Brexit would drive our economy over a cliff-edge leaving many businesses unable to trade, job losses, possible recession, no access to the EU single market and a physical hard border being put in place in Ireland."