Exporters tempt reef ermen to break Euro weight limits
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it by Sally Nash
Unscrupulous foreign exporters are preying on hard-pressed UK international reefer operators with the promise of work as long as they load up to 44 tonnes—which means running illegally across much of Europe.
This alarming trend, probably sparked by the introduction of 44-tonners on UK roads last month, has been highlighted by Transfrigoroute, the trade association which represents the temperaturecontrolled sector.
Graham Eames, vice-president of Transfrigoroute International, reports that freight forwarders and exporters on the Continent are keen to get a 25-tonne payload on their vehicles and have started asking hauliers to accept backloads up to 44 tonnes to achieve this.
But although hauliers have been legal in the UK at 44 tonnes since 1 February, countries such as France, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain still have lower maximum weight thresholds for six-axle vehicles.
One reputable temperaturecontrolled operator says: "Nobody is forcing you to accept an overloaded vehicle, but they will go elsewhere if you don't."
In some cases foreign companies do not even warn the haulier that the vehicle is overweight when it is picked up, he adds: "It's only when you get your vehicle weighed before getting on or after getting off the ferry that you find out."
Eames warns that overloading on the Continent by UK hauliers could become a real problem if enough operators are willing to take the risks. "Nobody checks vehicles," he says. "And there is always someone prepared to do this."
He is calling for proper checks at Dover in a bid to stamp out overloading.
Transfrigoroute company secretary Liam 011iff now plans to take up this issue at government level. The British haulier is being taken advantage of once again," he says. We want some sort of response from government to make it clear to everybody what the legal situation is so that people aren't drawn into illegal contracts," • Travelling at 44 tonnes through Holland would be permitted as the Dutch weight limit for six-axle vehicles is 50 tonnes—it is 48 tonnes in Denmark and 44 tonnes in Luxembourg. Italy and Belgium.
(Source: FTA).