Stowaways at Calais big problem for transporters on British market

Onions, Belgian endive, beetroot, celeriac, (seed) potatoes; the transport activities of J. de Groot are mostly seasonal. "With our twenty walk-in floor trailers and one container lorry, we transport a lot of bulk produce from around here, but also from Zeeland, Flevoland and the Nordoostpolder to various destinations in Europe. That means you have to be flexible. Sometimes you're stuck on Monday morning due to rain, to go on until late Saturday night. The drivers love the variety of their job throughout the year," says Robert Jacobs. In addition to the bulk produce, the work is diversified through fixed flows with products like waste paper, plastics, printed material and palletized vegetables, mostly to Germany, France, Belgium and England. One challenge: Preventing the large number of stowaways that try to reach England (by getting into the cargo bit of the lorries around Calais) from doing so. Since the Channel tunnel was opened in 1994, Calais is a transit route for migrants, but recently this number has increased significantly.

"All Dutch lorry drivers who go to Dover through the Channel tunnel, are facing this problem. There are thousands of stowaways in a 200 kilometre radius around Calais. If a refugee succeeds in getting on board as a stowaway, there would be a 2,500 Euro fine in England last year, an amount that was increased to 3,500 Euro this year," Robert says. It also happened to a De Groot Transport driver last year. "That was an expensive affair. At night, the lorry had been parked in Belgium, where ten stowaways got into it. They cut open the tarpaulin, moved the pallets with onions and relieved themselves in the lorry. Upon inspection at the Eurotunnel, it was discovered that there were people in the lorry, but that's not the end of it. First the driver is questioned for five hours, you're too late at your delivery address, and then a few months later you get a letter with a fine of 2,000 pounds per stowaway, for both the company and the driver. So that would amount to 40,000 pounds (over 55,000 Euro)."

With the aid of a lawyer, the fine was eventually lowered to 16,000 Euro, but the transporter is still angry about it. "You're seen as a smuggler, and as driver and company the burden of proving your innocence falls on you. The problem isn't getting any smaller either. First it was just Calais, but now the problem is slowing moving up north, and it's also happening in Rotterdam and IJmuiden. In our case they were North African stowaways, but it also happens with Yugoslavs and Albanians. They're often men, but sometimes entire families," Robert knows. "We try to take as many measures as possible. From Belgium on, our drivers don't stop now. Of course we have locked and barred the trailers, and we're having the cargo inspected with CO² readings or heartbeat scans. That takes ten minutes longer, but doesn't weigh up to a 20,000 pound fine. The only way in which this problem can disappear, is for the existing asylum and immigration laws in the United Kingdom to be changed, making it possible for the migrants to be deported immediately."

Apart from the migrant problem, the logistic service provider is cautiously optimistic about the situation in transport. "Some people are saying the recession is over, but we aren't quite there yet. The first three months of the year are traditionally difficult for us, but we have nothing to complain about so far... We have to work hard to keep our head above water. We're not there yet, but fortunately it's going in the right direction!"

For more information:
J. de Groot & Zn BV
Noordervaart 18
1636 VL Schermerhorn
Tel: +31(0)72-5039569
Fax: +31(0)72-5039471
info@degroottransport.nl