Brexit: Seaborne Freight no-deal ferry contract scrapped [View all]

[nitpicker]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47182361

Brexit: Seaborne Freight no-deal ferry contract scrapped

58 minutes ago

A controversial ferry contract awarded to a company with no ships as part of no-deal Brexit plans has been scrapped, the government has said. Ministers had faced criticism for the £13.8m deal with Seaborne Freight, which has never run a ferry service.

The Department of Transport said it made the decision after the company's Irish backer pulled out. The government is now in "advanced talks" to find another company to replace the cancelled deal.

The Daily Telegraph, which first reported the cancelled contract, said Arklow Shipping, a major Irish shipping firm, withdrew its support from Seaborne "without warning".
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At the time, the government said that it awarded the contract "in the full knowledge that Seaborne is a new shipping provider" and said that the company had been "carefully vetted". But on Saturday, the Department of Transport said that it has now become clear that Seaborne "would not reach its contractual requirements", after Arklow Shipping backed out of the deal.
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