NEW YORK: Some lorry drivers trying to use the Port of Liverpool today endured delays as a new high tech security system was introduced.
Drivers phoned the ECHO to complain about four hour delays. One said that around 100 vehicles were this afternoon backing down the dock road unable to gain access as the port suffered major teething problems with its new Autogate system.
Port operator Peel Ports acknowledged that some drivers did face delays today, but said they were only those that had failed to
register for the new Autogate system were affected. There was no sign of waiting lorries when the ECHO visited the port gates earlier today.
The latest problems follow similar delays in April that Peel Ports had said should be solved by the introduction of Autogate.
One driver told the ECHO: “The system has crashed. We have been waiting more than four hours.
“There must be more than 100 lorries backed up. Drivers are wondering around scratching their heads.”
As well as improving security, the port’s new multi-million pound system is also meant to cut down on the time drivers spend inside the port while they deliver or collect containers.
Last week, Peel Ports warned that less than half of drivers using the port had collected their new security cards without which they cannot gain entry to the docks complex.
In a statement yesterday, Peel denied that the new system had crashed, instead laying the blame for any delays with those drivers that had failed to register ahead of its introduction.
The statement said: “We have been clear from the outset that some delays were inevitable for hauliers in the first few weeks after
installing AutoGate.
“This short-term problem has invariably been encountered at ports worldwide as hauliers adapt from paper dockets to a fully-automated system.
“In our many communications with the haulage and liner community over the past six months we have constantly advised them to register with us so their identification and electronic transactions can be instantly verified when they arrive at the port, but only around half have done so.
