Chaos at Dover
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• The new computerised freight clearance system, Direct Trader Input — DTI — has been Named by hauliers for the scenes of chaos at Dover last week.
Hold-ups due to computer down-time brought the port to a complete standstill. On Friday last week it was suggested that Dover would have to close for eight hours to clear the backlog. Some hauliers said their lorries had been standing there for more than 24 hours, waiting for clearance.
DTI has been introduced gradually over the summer, with full implementation from November 10. Earlier in the year Dover Harbour Board anticipated that some 70% of Dover's freight traffic would be cleared by Customs using computers within 90 minutes of arrival (CM July 19). This compared to a previous average clearance time of four hours.
A combination of computer teething troubles and inadequate back-up measures, appear to be responsible for the problems of congestion and delay.
John Clark of Clan Transport went to a meeting with the Dover Freight Liaison Group where hauliers were assured that, although there had been a few hiccups with the system, it would operate smoothly as from November 10 when all agents had access to it. "The problems started on Tuesday and since then it has been a catalogue of disasters," said Clark on Friday. "The computer was down for six hours last night and has just gone down again. The dock is chock-a-block with vehicles, drivers and irate customers."
Clan Transport brings in between 40 and 50 reefers from the continent each week, full of frozen foods. "Some of our major customers — Ross, Bejam and Trust House Forte — have told us to stop using Dover if these problems continue," said Clark. "Now we're having a look at moving our business to Ramsgate."
Graham Eames of Hargrave International claimed the delays have cost his company thousands of pounds in the past week. Every one of his reefers carrying perishable goods has been held up coming into Dover. A load of dates was delayed there for 24 hours last Friday and no-one at the port was able to tell Eames where the lorry was within the system.
"We understood if the computer was down for more than an hour a back-up manual system would come into operation," said Eames. "This has not happened and we want to know why."
Operations Director for Dover Harbour Board, Donald Soppitt, told CM that, because of the problems last week, the system has now been pulled back from full implementation.