• Dropped by France, picked up by England
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS are only 12 miles from the French coast at their nearest point, yet their transport-distribution industry is thoroughly integrated with that of England — around 100 miles north.
You can read in reference books that Norman patois is still spoken by some Islanders. But a Guernsey man told me: "I have never met an Islander speaking it. And we don't climb trees to throw down coconuts. That's another myth.Everything except their French restaurants, Norman food being an outstanding regional cuisine, is tied in with England.
This leads to a busy interchange scene via Portsmouth, with heavy goods vehicles laden with ''exports'' likeBritish beer and bringing back tomatoes and other produce.
Exports? The Channel Islands are not officially part of the United Kingdom, but a dependancy of the Crown. Victor Hugo described them as "fragments of Europe dropped by France and picked up by England." Today, a consequence of this is that they are not in the EEC and that a container composed of say, 140 loads needs 140 Tforms.
The traffic to Guernsey and Jersey is static in the sense that three lines operate out of Portsmouth and is not susceptible to increase from industrial growth to these horticultural and holiday isles. Everyone, gather, knows everyone's else's business over there, so there can be no secrecy over rates, nor is there any sign of a rates war. But what if another ship was put in the run?
Sealink is the front runner with its larger, stabilised ships operating ro-ro, but whether .there could be a new factor coming up.on the horizon, I could not say. If Sealink is privatised — the Civil Service in-word for selling off publicly owned enterprises — it will be interesting to see what happens. Hualin Reriouf Ltd, of St Helier, operates a cargo service between Jersey, Guernsey and Portsmouth with one ship.
But the Commodore Group claims the lion's share of island/mainland cargo. This group includes Channel Stevedores Ltd and A, Burnett &Sons (Transport) Ltd. It is Guernseybased, and in Portsmouth operates out of Albert Johnson Quay, and is also the stevedoring company for Townsend Thoresen and Brittany Ferries.
Commodore's haulage subsidiary has a fleet of a dozen Mercedes-Benz tractive units and-eight Volvos. Until the lorry drivers' strike• it had twice as many vehicles, but now finds it better to sub-contract much more than it did.
Operations director Philip Bowditch told me: "Over the past four years, too, ownerdrivers and small hauliers have become more professional. Owner-drivers work for us and become small hauliers. We work very closely together and have a friendly relationship. Outside hauliers can share in our prosperity. They seem to make their vehicles last longer than our own drivers."
Burnett vehicles are virtually all on container work. There are more local hauls and fewer London ones than there were.
Not all of Commodore's work is with the Channel Islands. Oranges and other goods are imported from Morocco — 56,000 tons have been moved so far this year on its Iberian service. And last October a container service was started to Le Havre. The company, then, is looking to expand, and this means competing in other areas than Guernsey and Jersey. Trade is up this year.
"The Channel Islands service is a floating bridge,said Philip. It is not so seasonal as might be supposed. Tomatoes are imported ten months a year, potatoes -in the mad summer-, and cauliflowers during the winter.
The day I went down to Portsmouth the Norman Commodore was berthed with 173 tons of _general cargo from the islands and was loading with .400/ 500 tons back that ,evening; the Island Commodore was bringing in 424 tons of tomatoes and 40 tons of general cargo, and taking 300 tons of goods back.
Two other vessels — Challlenger and Clipper — run this service; the Enterprise runs to Iberia and the group also has a coaster.
The group is proud that three years ago it captured the Royal Mail contract from Sealink's roll-on/roll-off operation (not letters, of course, they go by air), "The Royal Mail goes by the best means,said Philip. "Containers are more sensible than a vehicle."
With photographer Dick Ross I wandered all over the Albert Johnson Quay as loading /. unloading hotted up. Wherever we looked there seemed to be tomatoes, graded according to one of seven different sizes by the Guernsey Tomato Marketing Board. Each size of tomato has its own colour .6 kilo (13.2 lb) carton.
But I met one driver working for an English haulier running Volvos who was far from satisfied. He is a man who is usually on Continental runs, which he
much prefers; and he reckons That in Britain we are mostly far behind the times.
"Look around you," he said. "There are seven foreign made. lorries around us and one Bedford. Look at that White — a beautiful lorry with lots of power. What have we got in
Britain? Fodens going bust. _ _
'• "They're much more clued :up in France, with more curtainsiders and faster loading! unloading, more equipment. In "England you get men having to Climb on their loads — tomatoes — in order to rope and sheet.".
Another driver, an older man, told me of improvements made: a few years ago he had to handball tomato trays to his; lorry — a job that could take three hours on his own. And the motorway, he said, now cuts 45 minutes each way off his Portsmouth run. "The loading facilities are quite good here,he added.
However, management told me: ':Drivers never have to wait." .
Commodore, by the way, does its own maintenance, both for vehicles and for 50 trailers, 20 small forklifts, •five big ones, 11 tugs, five cranes, two toplifts and some slave trailers. There's no MoT test required in the Channel Islands, but vehicles are sent over for it at Pompey nevertheless. The lorries do around 45,000 miles a year each and utilisation is said to be 100 per cent.
Later I went over to Coinnlodor'e's major competitor — Mainland Market Deliveries Ltd at Flathouse Quay, where Roy Barnett, managing director,
pointed out some curiosities of Channel Island trade: Jersey's maximum legal width for vehicles. is 7ft 6in-, Guernsey's 7ft 4in, for instance (an ISO cont ainer is 8ft wide).
His company operates Mercedes-Benz and Volvos in an artic fleet of 35 and runs an unaccompanied trailer service, but has a blanket authorisation for a number of specified skele,tals at over maximum dimension when carrying fresh meat or frozen foods. There are 'around 5000 movements each way per year — about two thirds of the trade with St Peters and the rest with Jersey.
The company, a haulage contractor, first experimented with a service via car ferry ships taking four trailers at Weymouth, and then started with a regular ro-ro service via Sealink at Portsmouth in 1977. The very first Pompey ro-ro was filled up.
"Sealink gives an excellent service," said Roy, "and we fill 50 per cent of the ship every night. Ro-ro is less expensive for perishable goods like fresh meat and frozen goods; fragile goods; and low-rated traffic, heavy but with low bulk.
"We also do a groupage ser vice, which is growing quickly We give a 24-hour serice; if th goods are in our depot at 4pr we guarantee they will be on th Island at 4pm the next day.".
Mainland Market Deliverie are also stevedores in their ow right and for Sealink.
-There's a big potential e Portsmouth," said Roy Barnet' "and development schemes ar in the offing._ The port is in good geographical position; it' an extra day's steaming fc vessels to get to Dover an whether the Channel tunnel i built or not, it won't make an effect in Portsmouth. Fror Portsmouth vehicles can get t London in a couple of hours, c for the Midlands avoid th Mainland Market Deliverie; too, have their eye on prospeci for expansion into Continent; operation. In their case it woul take the form of co-operatio with a French partner, for th company believes that is whet the future. lies. "A quick turr round with trailers must be and be more economic tha sending drivers,said Roy Ba nett.