Politics

Ferry boss fears passengers will face checks when crossing the Irish Sea after Brexit



Checks will be imposed in the Irish Sea by Brexit, a ferries chief said today.

Ian Hampton, the boss of Stena Line, demanded more clarity from the Government over how they would operate and be funded.

“For us, it is a big concern. How will those ports need to change to be able to cope with the checks that maybe need to be brought into place?” he told the BBC.

The checks are expected initially to be between Great Britain and Northern Ireland at least, with the Government prioritising free movement of goods over checks.


Stena Line, the biggest operator of ferries in the Irish Sea, is working on the basis that the checks would be carried out in British ports.

“We are still in this territory of not getting clarity from the Government just yet as to how they actually see trade agreements being, because if we get good trade agreements, we won’t need to have certain checks,” added Mr Hampton.

While ferry firms would not be carrying out the checks, they may need to provide space for them to be done.

Boris Johnson has insisted that there would not be checks from Northern Ireland to Britain, saying: “We will make sure that businesses face no extra costs and no checks for stuff being exported from NI to GB.”

The Prime Minister broke the deadlock over Theresa May’s Brexit deal by agreeing to a new deal which will see a border of sorts in the Irish Sea. Business chiefs in Northern Ireland have raised concerns that it could hit trade.

The exact details have been clouded in confusion, with a Treasury document suggesting checks both ways. But a No10 source said: “The PM has been consistently clear on no border in the Irish Sea.”



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