Gulf drivers surface
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• The future is looking brighter for British truckers marooned in the Middle East after Saddam Hussein's takeover of Kuwait.
Of the three trucks sent to Doha, in Qatar, by Bob Paul, boss of Astrans, one went missing for a few days. However, driver John Wilds has since phoned in to report that he was temporarily stuck at Safwan at the Iraqi frontier with Kuwait, when the invasion took place. Iraqi soldiers ordered Wilds to go back into Iraq and take the road to Arar, linking directly with Saudi Arabia. He has since tipped his load in Doha and left fos home last Sunday (12 August).
Bob Paul is still concerned, however, over the future as exports to the Middle East drop. Transiting Iraq whose transit tax is cheaper than Jor
dan and Syria, is now out of the question. It is also longer in terms of time, as both Syria and Jordan require trucks to pass through in convoys which are slow-moving and unpredictable on departure times. This means extra cost, which will have to be passed onto customers shipping their freight.
Concern was also voiced for Nigel Harness who drives for Peterlea Trucking from Tiptree, Essex. He has now telephoned base and reported that he is safe. After unloading in Qatar he is waiting to pass through Jordan in a homewardbound convoy.
Alan Brookes, a Purfleetbased haulier with 18 trucks, has two drivers waiting to get out of Iraq. They recently unloaded their cargo at Saddam Hussein's new palace in Baghdad.