The return of Operation Brock

In the build up to last year's abortive Brexit on 31st October, the Government and Highways England put in place mitigation measures, Operation Brock, to have queues of trucks and lorries through Kent and try to keep traffic moving. Part of that was the turning of the coastbound carriageway into a lorry park, and the London bound side reduced to two lanes each way with a steel barrier. Traffic on this was limited to 50 mph.

In the end, Operation Brock wasn't needed, and the contraflow removed and traffic on the motorway returned to normal.

Brock was a scaled up version of old Operation Stack, where areas of the M20 and M26 would be used to park Dover-bound trucks. In 2016, phase 4 of Op Stack was started, meaning traffic had blocked all of the M20 between Dover and Maidstone, and the M26 was going to be used.

What is now clear is that these "temporary" measures are to be semi-permanent. A draft paper was published, with questions for the haulage industry if the Government had got stuff wrong.

Remember, we were promised frictionless trade with the EU, no visible changes in what was to be the easiest trade deal in history.

Trucks over 7.5tonnes will need:

"While it is the responsibility of the trader (or the trader’s agent, such as a customs agent or freight forwarder) to provide the necessary documentation to the HCV driver, it is the HCV driver who must present the documentation at the EU ports.

Being border-ready means that an HCV driver is carrying all the necessary documentation to get through the GB and EU port (or has been provided with the appropriate information to get the documentation).

This includes:

customs documentation:

a master or movement reference number (MRN) from an import declaration if the goods are going to stay in the country of disembarkation (for example, goods going from GB to France), or a transit accompanying document if the goods are either staying in the country of disembarkation or going to move beyond it (for example, goods going from GB to Spain via France)

an admission temporaire/temporary admission (ATA) carnet if the goods are temporarily going abroad (for example, goods going from GB to France and then back to GB) a transports internationaux routiers (TIR) carnet if goods are sealed and/or going to non-Common Transit Convention (CTC) member countries (for example, GB to India overland).

import and export documentation depending on what goods are carried (it is possible that a free trade agreement or sectoral deal may change some of the requirements for import and export documentation). For example, EU member state authorities will check for the following on arrival at the EU port: products of animal origin require an export health certificate

plant and plant-based products require a phytosanitary certificate

fish require a catch certificate, export health certificate and where appropriate a captain’s certificate.

Some documentation could be electronic or physical (like the MRN barcode) while others would need to be physical (like the ATA carnet). Please note that the list is not exhaustive; for more information, please refer to the Border Operating Model published on 13 July 2020.

In addition, there may be other forms of import/export documentation that an HCV driver will need to carry on behalf of their trader which would not be checked at the ports. An HCV driver using the accompanied roll on roll off (RoRo) route would need a safety and security declaration before arriving in the EU. However, EU rules mean that they can be completed shortly before arriving in the EU.

Some EU member states have additional national requirements for goods arriving from GB, for example:

France requires the use of the SI Brexit system, and the MRN barcodes for multiple consignments must be compiled in to a single ‘envelope’ MRN that will be scanned the Netherlands and Belgium require that all movements are pre-notified using the Portbase and RXSeaport systems respectively; HCVs that are not pre-notified will not be allowed to leave Dutch or Belgian ports.

And the four phases of Operation Brock are:

"phase 1: using the Dover Traffic Assessment Protocol (TAP 20) to hold around 500 lorries on the six-mile section of A20 leading to Dover

phase 2: queuing on the coastbound M20 (J8-J9) with a steel barrier to create the contraflow, with all other non-freight traffic going through the M2.

phase 3: Manston Airport HCV holding facility for all Port of Dover freight (Eurotunnel freight would have continued to be held on M20 J8-J9)

phase 4: M26 queuing system coastbound and London-bound for all Eurotunnel freight"

This will be the new normal. No freight will be able to leave the UK for the EU without compliance as they won't be allowed on the ferry or Tunnel Shuttle. This is not UK red tape, this is EU red tape that all third countries have to comply with, and being outside the CU and SM always meant would be mandated, but was dismissed by Brexiteers as "project fear".

Thing about phase 3 is that Grant Shapps wants to use Manston as a freight airport. So, the two departments will have to work out what is more important. Or maybe they haven't noticed, and planes will try to land only to find the runway packed with trucks......

This is Project Reality. This is Operation Brock.