Car deliveries at Ramsgate Port resumed yesterday (February 12) with 930 new electric hybrid vehicles unloaded from carrier Autoprestige.
The vessel carrier, which had travelled from Zeebrugge, docked at 10.15am. Delivery had been due on Thursday but was held up due to weather conditions.
The ad hoc deliveries are through transport and logistics company GEFCO UK Ltd, which previously had a deal with Thanet council for use of the port between January 2016-January 2017.
This resumed in 2019 with GEFCO importing new Peugeot and Citroen cars from the Continent to Ramsgate. These vehicles were bound for the UK market and were stored at Ramsgate prior to onward transport to customers.
Agency workers from HRGO unload the vehicles.
The deliveries provide income to the port which has been in deficit for many years. In the 2019/20 financial year there was £3.3million expenditure on the port, income of £1.5million, equalling a deficit of £1.8 million, according to Thanet council’s statement of accounts. By contrast the harbour made a small profit of £285,000.
A source says GEFCO is expecting to ship more cars to Ramsgate due to a backlog of vehicles from France caused by covid and Brexit.
GEFCO are the handling agents based in UK.
Operations are covid secure with drivers supplied with sanitiser and masks. There is currently no minibus transport for workers who instead need to walk back and forth to the ship.
Another shipment Has been earmarked for arrival next week.
