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in Many of the hauliers trapped in the French lorry drivers' dispute face ruin because the value of their loads is not covered by CMR insurance.
The operators at risk are those who sent vehicles across the Channel since the start of the blockade last Tuesday. The CMR convention, which is the basis for most international goods in transit insurance, only provides for damage caused by unforseen civil disturbances.
Because these hauliers knew about the dispute in advance their insurer may not pay up, warns Brian Johnson of Road Haulage Association insurance specialists Bain Clarkson.
"These people took a chance in hoping to bypass the trouble," he says. "It could be argued that they acted unreasonably. Our advice to members has been not to travel to France."
But the number of truck drivers going to France has not fallen since the blockade began nine days ago, says ferry operator Stena Sealink. "We are telling customers to stay off the main routes," it says. "The main problem has been with traffic caught up in the dispute from the beginning."
Tom Inglis, chairman of reefer hauliers' trade association Transfrigoroute, says a "vast number" of his members have been delayed and in many cases their perishable loads are at risk. He plans to press the French government for compensation, but doesn't "hold out much hope".
Dave Han-is, director of Tivoli Transport in Cheltenham, says the thousands of eggs carried by one of his subcontractors, "have probably hatched by now".
British MEP Brian Simpson has backed the calls for compensation. "Some trucks from northeast Scotland were delayed near Macon carrying chilled fish — you can imagine what happened to the load," he says. "I'm hopeful the French government will bear responsibility as they set a precedent by paying compensation to cover losses in the lamb war." The RHA wrote to Transport Secretary John MacGregor on Monday asking him to persuade the French to provide basic welfare facilities for drivers, many of whom had been stranded for a week. And in a letter to the French embassy, the RHA said the lack of effective action by the French authorities amounted to "acquiescence to illegal acts", It warned that operators would be demanding compensation from Paris.
The blockade was organised by drivers and small hauliers in protest at a new driving licence penalty points system.