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Long queues and short tempers at Felixstowe
Page 28
Page 29
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Chris Tindall joined the drivers at Felixstowe Docks to find out if the delays are really as bad as we've been told...
Spending a cold, miserable day at Felixstowe docks is not something I would normally choose to do, but truth be told, neither would any haulier. And if recent reports are anything to go by, drivers at the terminal have been seeing much more of the port than they would wish.
I arrive at Trinity Dock at lunchtime. The queues at the check-in point appear to be flowing freely. But a chat with drivers yields a different story.
The general consensus is it's understaffed. One driver says it is possible to he in and out in an hour but everyone knows someone. if not themselves, who has waited up to seven hours.
Another driver. Mark, who works for a Stansted-based operator, says: "Last week I sat here for an hour they shut the dock as it was too busy. [Then] I was directed to the Temporary Holding Area [THAI I was sat there for another hour.
Mark says his transport manager has had enough and the firm cannot afford to carry on working out of Felixstowe. He blames the delays on problems created by dock workers who now have to comply with the Working Time Directive (WTD), while truck drivers do not yet have to. I hitch a ride with him. After 20 minutes we arrive under the canopy where Mark receives his paperwork. The port operative is told why I am here and he says people should be made aware of how bad it gets.
Mark says the quoted average time of 40 minutes for unloading is misleading. I leave him 50 minutes later, still sat on his slot and idly waiting for a straddle driver to come and deal with his container.And this is supposedly a quiet period.
Back at the entrance the queues are building up. There are eight fines into the dock, but only four are in operation. A Shuntrite driver says it is not unusual to be queuing here for 30 minutes.
Mark. a Colchester-based owner-driver, complains that a bottleneck arises when all the lines aren't open: `They haven't got the staff here." He looks around. "I don't know if these people are on their breaks.
However. Mark is philosophical about the port's problems. He says it's -a bit rare" to be waiting three or four hours on the THA, but admits that when you are an owner-driver you don't tend to count the hours. He shows me the canteen and says drivers could walk there from the THA.
"It's such a big place. nothing's perfect. It's like any working week; you get some good jobs and some crap jobs.
I jump in his cab and half an hour later we are directed to the THA. I meet Les, an East Anglian owner-driver. He's not so philo sophical and pulls no punches on the situation. "Yesterday I got down here at 1.30pm and returned home at 6.15pm,he reports. "It's quite horrendous. The majority of drivers are hacked off."
Les completely disagrees with Mark's point that drivers can walk to the canteen from here. He points out that if the bleeper Felixstowe port provides THA-sidelined drivers goes off, you would be nowhere nearyourtruck and would in all likelihood miss your slot. He demands more facilities for this area, even if it's just to get a cup of tea.
Both drivers agree that, in theory, the system works. But in practice. they point out, it fails spectacularly. Les jokes: "You have to queue to get out!"
Andrew turns up. He's a shunter driver with a sense of humour. but his patience is wearing thin. He picked up and dropped off three times the day before and it took him 12 hours.
"They are understaffed," he explains. "It's horrendous for someone working on a Friday trying to get home." Andrew's
main complaint is that a drivercan queue on the THA for a couple of hours and then drive to his slot only to find the whole area empty. "You start wondering why on earth you've just been sat round for the last two hours.
Apparently the drivers at Felixstowe reckon THA stands for Temporarily Happy Area. By 4pm Mark has found out why. "This is a joke. it's bloody ridiculous," he storms, his philosophical nature disappearing with the fading light.
But this anger is nothing compared to Nick, a subbie for Orchid: "Every night I have been here I spend one to two hours on the TIIA.Then there's the slot to get the box on or off — another hour and a half. And there's the 20,30. 45 minutes in the first queue." He says he was forced to threaten a straddle driver today. I don't doubt him."Lazy bastards." he mutters.
Mark has been waiting for more than two hours when suddenly his bleeper goes off. He gives me a lift back to the port entrance. I can go home, but Mark is only half-way through the system.•