Truckline plays its part
Page 33
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3EOPLE have been under the unbunded impression that during he French fisherman's action, fruckline Ferries did not play heir part in trying to operate a erYice.
National papers and TV made
great issue of the problems reated for the passenger-carryng routes and excluded any -nention of the effect on trade -novements. It is now time to put he situation right. If Truckline was not in the floodlights at least t was in the forefront of the acion as these facts show:
My Coutances having left 'oole on August 16 was unable o enter Cherbourg normally lext day.
The ship's captain decided to )reak the blockade at the same ime as the Free Enterprise md the only reason he was unlble to tie the Coutances along;ide our berth was that there were not hundreds of tourists on )ur linkspan to frighten the ishermen away and tie the ves;el alongside.
The Coutances was attacked )nd damaged by flares, ball)earings, axes and all sorts of netal objects. There was then -to alternative but to return to )oole.
The my Purbeck was, at the )eginning of the fisherman's acion, in dry dock in Le Havre. A/hile Le Havre was closed, its aptain decided to leave in the .iarly hours of August 21 by usng the River Seine canals which ink the east end of the port of Le lavre with the bay itself.
This was done with all the ights off, radio silence, and without the assistance of tugs. rhis was the first ship to break he blockade in Le Havre, albeit without news coverage. The yes;el then made way to Cherbourg where she anchored in the loads awaiting instructions.
On August 22 at 10 hours, the Coutances sailed from Poole to _e Havre with a full load of cargo which was discharged in this port before the ship's annual dry docking.
On the same day, and taking advantage of a truce, the Purbeck, anchored off Cherbourg, was instructed to sail to Le Havre where traffic could be picked up. The sailing from Le Havre took place at 2100 hours local time.
Purbeck, now back in Poole, left for Le Havre on August 24 with 20 vehicles on board. The ship got into Le Havre but, after discharge on Monday, the truce was abruptly ended and reloaded, it could not immediately sail.
But on Tuesday August 26 at 0230 hours local time, the Purbeck spearheaded the forcing of the blockade by six vessels after the French Navy's frogmen had cut the cables.
Townsend Thoresen and Normandy Ferries agreed to follow suit with the forcing of the blockade only if the Purbeck led the way. It is not intended to blame these two ferry companies, but just to point out that the facts should not be distorted because there were no TV cameras present.
On August 26 the company decided, against all odds, to sail the Purbeck from Poole in the direction of Le Havre and thereon Rouen if need be. In the morning phone conversations with both Normandy Ferries and Townsend Thoresen revealed that they declined to do a further run into Le Havre because they both had commitments to passengers for services to Zeebrugge.
At about 10 hours on August 27, the Purbeck docked in Le Havre, being the only crossChannel to operate into that port on that day, the gamble haying paid off to the extent that*both Normandy Ferries and Townsend Thoresen freight offices in Le Havre asked us for some space for their cargo.
As you will see, we have tried to do our very best during this difficult fortnight. It is merely the fact that we are not involved in tourist traffic that resulted in TV and the national Press not re porting incidents when Truckline was at the forefront of the action.
JOHN CHAPMAN JEFF DUVAL Truckline Ferries (Poole) Ltd Dorset