15/05/2015
Interesting letter received today showing just how serious the migrant situation at Calais really is.......
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight Bulletin
Dear Mr Denman,
The migrant situation in Calais is increasingly serious and the authorities are currently unable to contain the growing population now camping around the Centre Jules Ferry near the port of Calais, attempting to board trucks heading for the UK and disrupting normal life and businesses in the Calais area.
As cross-Channel transporters you are being directly targeted by the migrants and we, as your cross-Channel carrier, have been required to adapt our terminal security measures very rapidly in order to assist in the detection of migrants in your trucks who put the security of our staff and our service operation, as well as your drivers, vehicles and customers’ loads at risk.
In recent days we have seen unprecedented numbers of migrants coming from the camp near the port of Calais to the autoroute near the Eurotunnel terminal. Sadly we continue to see evidence of trucks that have not taken sufficient security measures and this weakness actively encourages migrants to remain in the area and causes more problems for all of us. Can I please ask that you take strong measures to secure your vehicles from the start of their journey to the Calais area and urge your drivers to stay vigilant and accountable for their trucks and loads.
Eurotunnel’s detection systems, using a combination of PMMW, Euroscan, sniffer patrols, CO2 detectors and manual search are extremely effective. Any migrants found on board trucks at our terminal entrance are immediately handed over to the authorities.
Unfortunately the time taken to control every truck slows down the access to our terminal and can add to journey time.
With increasing traffic between the UK and continental Europe, the authorities must step up their protection of the routes across the Channel and their treatment of migrants caught attempting to board trucks before serious damage is done to this strategic freight route.
Meanwhile I would like to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to keep traffic on our terminal moving, to keep trucks, drivers and loads safe. For example, we have taken the decision on 13th May to covert our existing terminal parking area into an extended pre check- in zone in order to provide increased security for approximately 150 additional trucks on site.
We are also working with the police and the local authorities to assist them with their responsibility which is to control the movement and actions of migrants on the motorway or in the local area outside our terminal.
Later this year we will be opening our extended terminal facilities and our new 350 space secure truck park, part of the group's €30 million investment in Terminal 2015 The revised layout of the terminal will enable an extra 250 trucks (equivalent to 5km motorway queue) access to an enhanced safe, secure, managed zone ahead of the check-in and to further reduce the ability of migrants to climb aboard.
We continue to request that the governments increase resources to control migrant activity in the area around Calais, to ensure the security and safety of traffic on the motorways and to remove the migrants from the local area.
As transporters at the centre of this migrant problem I urge you to seek support from your political authorities to prioritise this issue and to seek a speedy resolution.
Best regards,
Jo Willacy
Jo Willacy
Commercial Director
