Ramsgate Ferry chairman Dr Bill Moses stressed the business case behind reviving a cross-channel link, outlining the sharp growth in cross-channel passenger and freight traffic since the first Ro-Ro service in 1953 and emphasised that following the cessation of services from Sheerness, Dartford, Ramsgate and Folkestone, Dover is the only port in Kent providing a passenger ferry to the continent.

He questioned whether Thanet District Council, the owners and managers of the Port of Ramsgate, could continue to sustain large trading losses with the ferry berths remaining empty and unused and suggested that further investment of public funds into a failing management structure would not be in the best interests of taxpayers.

Ramsgate has been without a ferry service since TransEurope Ferries folded in 2014 and Dr Moses is also currently considering options for a television documentary examining the many recent controversies at the port and the benefits that a passenger ferry service could bring.

At Shippax we believe it is very unlikely that there will ever be a ferry service from Ramsgate again. As it is most unlikely that Oostende or Boulogne-sur-Mer will have a cross-Channel renaissance.