Not content with having to pay Eurotunnel £33m ($44m) to settle a court case brought as a result of a “secretive” award of ferry contracts in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK is now facing an even bigger bill.
It could have to pay another £28m if, as seems almost certain, parliamentary deadlock means its exit from the European Union is delayed past the 29 March deadline.
Transport minister Chris Grayling signed more than £100m in contracts with DFDS, Brittany Ferries and Seaborne Freight last year to provide extra routes to avoid Dover-Calais congestion.
The notorious deal with Seaborne — the ferry company with no ferries — has sunk without trace.
Brittany Ferries has now said the terms of its deal “included fair and proportionate compensation in a deal scenario, taking account of the significant preparatory work and concomitant costs incurred by Brittany Ferries”.
Extra staff have been employed and more than 20,000 existing bookings changed.
The minister's hapless record of costing taxpayers millions upon millions of pounds has earned him the nickname Failing Grayling. What's next?
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Ship name of the week: Niovis Shipping's 61,000-dwt bulker newbuilding Captain Haddock (built 2019).
Haddock is of course the drunken old sea dog from Herge's Adventures of Tintin.
A quick trawl through shipping databases also reveals ships called Captain Cook and Captain Hook.
There is no truth in the rumour that further Niovis vessels will be called Captain Birdseye, Captain Pugwash and Captain Beefheart.
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Norwegian cruise ferry group Hurtigruten is teaming up with EAT Foundation to offer a more "plant-based" diet onboard its vessels.
The expanded offering will cut down on waste and offer "even more exquisite and healthier food options".
The shipowner has already removed processed food and endangered species from its menus.
So, those craving a Whopper Whale Burger N Cheese will have to look elsewhere.
