I’ve not done any container work until last week, and even then I was only collecting brand new boxes for a company in Aylesbury who use them for storage. I have however loaded curtainsiders at Felixstowe.
Now in order to get out of Felixstowe, you needed to have a ‘pass’ card, stamped by the company who loaded the trailer. Last week, after loading two 20’ boxes, I went to exit gate 10. I wasn’t given an exit pass when I exited they conatiner yard where the boxes were being stored, just a container inspection/damage report sheet. I slowed down expecting to be stopped and the boxes inspected as they were new, but the barrier was raised and I was waved through. I just assumed that they were aware that these signwritten boxes were new and empty and didn’t need to be checked. In total, I took about 12 boxes out before another of our drivers who was travelling behind me shouted me on the CB saying that security were going to call the police because I was stealing the boxes.
I stopped and went back pointing out that if they want to keep the port secure, they should use the barrier and check everything which is leaving. When I explained what had been happening all week and how many boxes I had taken and that I was always waved through, he looked a bit embarrased and thanked me for coming back, and said that they need a copy of the inspection/damage report.
Given the current state of global terrorism, and the high amount of crime in this country, you would have thought security would have been increased. God only knows what could have been taken by other drivers.
In my opinion, if security wave you through, that is not an indication that you should stop!
Is this normal practice at other ports? Perhaps Southampton needs to introduce a pass system to get out of the port?
I’m not sure whether to tell ABP about this?
Would like some opinions on this as I don’t want to appear on Crimewatch in the future!
It must depend on the guy on the gate because when i used to go into Tankfreight in Southampton to clean out I had to get a pass from the office. It was the same type of pass used at Felixstowe. Maybe it was just TF being polite and doing the job for them. We had the same system leaving Hull Docks by showing either a delivery note or weighbridge ticket.
When Tubesales had warehouse on the docks before they moved to Nursling the Goods in controller used to give out a pass for the gate, maybe they are getting lapse?
I haven’t been anywhere near Southampton for four months now (:mrgreen:) but certainly up until christmas the interchange document which you get from Pentalvers et al also serves as a gate pass…
…that said, it’s no use if no-one checks it, and they can be incredibly lax down there. We have a yard within the port, and half the time we just wrote our own gatepass on a bit of paper, or they knew us by sight and just waved us through…
They already know what is in your box before it is let out - see this saic.com/products/security/mobile-vacis/
And yes Customs and Excise as well as Immigration do use them in the UK.
I’ve always trucks are vunerable to hijack a truck within the port — flag a tuck down and overpower/dope the driver, then you’ve got the truck, load and paperwork.
I was at Dock Gate 20 yesterday in a rigid and didn’t get asked to open up at the gate on the way out (I have at Tilbury, Immingham and Bristol)
I did 6 months working Southampton last year and was in and out of gate 10 several times a day, not with containers but a curtainsider collecting freight around the docks. During that time I was not stopped once either in or out, and was never given any document that looked anything like a gate pass from the places I loaded.
Working Tilbury now and it’s like a different world, I even know the security guess by name now and still get stopped!!
