Thanet District Council reportedly refused to give the troubled Seaborne Freight company a contract a year before the Government withdrew from its own ferry agreement in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

KentOnline reports today that the council had decided not to give Seaborne Freight a year before the Government's own dealings with the company in news that is likely to raise more questions over the due diligence at the Department for Transport.

According to the website, the council was close to agreeing terms with the firm to run boats from Ramsgate to Ostend in early 2018 but pulled out because of concerns over the company's finances.

The KentOnline story says a contract was put to Seaborne to sign between Christmas and New Year in 2018 but that the council leader at the time, Chris Wells, had concerns that there was a risk the authority could be exposed financially.

The revelation comes after reports that Seaborne Freight had no ships and not run any ferry services before. The firm also appeared to have the same terms and conditions as a takeaway restaurant on its website.

Seaborne Freight was awarded a £13.8m contract to run a freight service between Ramsgate and Belgium in the event that Britain leaves the European Union without a deal.

In Parliament today (February 11), North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale asked transport minister Chris Grayling if the Government would take over Ramsgate Port to protect local taxpayers, which the minister did not rule out.

Stock footage of the abandoned infrastructure of Ramsgate Port in Thanet, Kent, UK. The port closed in 2013 after the last ferry operator went bust. The company halted operations owing Thanet District Council, owners of the port, £3M.

Between 2013 and 2019 the council has carried out the minimum maintenance necessary to keep the facility 'ship ready', but is now looking to save that cost which amounts to over £750K per year.

In the meantime, the UK Government announced a package of £30M in funding to ferry operators to provide relief services from the UK ports to the continent in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Included in the plans were a new Ramsgate to Ostend service to be operated by Seaborne Freight – a company with no history of operating ferries and no ships.

UK Transport Minister, Chris Grayling has been lampooned for his decision to award the contract to Seaborne. Questions have been raised about due diligence. At one stage it was pointed out that the company's website terms and conditions were copied from a fast food delivery firm.

On February 9th the deal was cancelled though Grayling still has intentions to use Ramsgate Port. In the meantime the port buildings and infrastructure appear anything but ready to be a UK border entry point or a modern facility capable of handling thousands of lorries and cars each day.