Around 100 striking French ferry workers have blocked Eurotunnel train traffic between France and the United Kingdom for the second time in a week.
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Earlier the British Government described the disruption caused by the industrial action as “completely unacceptable”.
Workers at MyFerryLink blocked the Channel Tunnel, which carries vehicles and travelers between the port of Calais, France and Folkestone, England, in action over expected job losses after operator Eurotunnel sold the company to Denmark-based DFDS Seaways.
“When the mobilisation ramps up, we’ll block everything, which could disrupt Eurotunnel”, he warned.
They cut their way through fences in to the Eurotunnel site.
Last week the Telegraph disclosed how illegal immigrants had made their way onto British soil despite what the Home Office pledged were “100 per cent checks” on freight traffic.
The crews, who belong to the employee cooperative SCOP SeaFrance, were meeting this morning to discuss whether or not to continue their action but port spokeswoman Isabelle Fauquet told IHS Maritime that, in the meantime, the port had been closed to all ferry traffic.
Cross-channel train services on the Eurostar and Channel Tunnel are not yet suffering any delays.
Customers were advised to contact their ferry operator before travelling.
Meanwhile, in Calais, media are reporting that barriers used for the London Olympics are to be deployed at the port’s lorry terminal parking facility to prevent migrants from climbing onto trucks.
Ferries continued to run to and from Dunkirk, but P&O, DFDS and MyFerryLink services between Dover and Calais, the quickest crossing, were suspended.
Calais is a magnet for migrants, many from troubled parts of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, who use it as a jumping-off point to try to get across to Britain.
MyFerryLink is due to cease operations on July 2.
The sale came after a competition authority ruling and left up to 600 jobs, including 70 in Dover, under threat.
Giving details of a deal that is bound to cause further grief for travellers, spokesperson Emma Batchelor noted that DFDS was only taking over the vessels and not any reservations made for MyFerryLink services. The firm couldn’t promise that services will restart before then.
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Kent Police said they were monitoring the latest situation.
