Brexit demands more planning

ESVAGT has many vessels working in the energy sector in Great Britain, where ESVAGT supports offshore wind and oil and gas production.

The shipping company therefore needed to thoroughly prepare itself for the consequences of Brexit in good time before Great Britain left the EU on the 31st of January this year. And the company has been closely following developments since the withdrawal, says Martin Ørbæk Nielsen, Strategic Senior Procurement Manager:

“The fear was that we would have difficulties in logistics and that we would be faced with more bureaucracy and complications, so we made sure we were thoroughly prepared with existing suppliers and with back up suppliers in the UK – our plan B was in place,” he says.

New rules for manpower

Brexit means that Great Britain is no longer within the common market rules for tariffs and for the free labour market.

ESVAGT sends personnel and goods in and out of Great Britain on a daily basis, and the shipping company is registered with the EU customs authorities to ease the inward flow of goods. The company has also taken advantage of the competencies of customs specialists at NorSea, who have helped ESVAGT get on top of the increased amount of paperwork.

“Regardless of whether we are talking about personnel, food products, spare parts or medical equipment entering Great Britain, Brexit has brought potential roadblocks. We follow the situation very closely ourselves and it is good to have partners on board who have the right contacts,” says Martin Ørbæk Nielsen.

A couple of extra days

Six months after Brexit came into force, ESVAGT can conclude that it was well prepared for what was coming – and that it is a good idea to stay that way.

“This is of course also new for the British and small adjustments are being made all the time that we need to adapt to,” says Michael Rønn, Head of Purchase & Logistics for ESVAGT:

“To counter this, we have added a couple of extra days in our planning when working with Great Britain. Things just take a day or two more than they used to, especially when we need to transport goods from Britain to Denmark,” he says.