A P&O ferry has been released from two-week detention following re-inspection, British maritime officials said on Friday.
The European Causeway, which was released on Friday, had been detained in Larne, Northern Ireland, since March 25 after it was deemed “unfit“ to sail ”due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation, and crew training.”
It was the first of two P&O ferries detained after the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ordered “very detailed inspections” of all P&O vessels following the company’s abrupt dismissal and replacement of almost 800 seafarers.
P&O Ferries, which was bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, sparked outrage when it fired 786 UK-based seafarers without any prior notice on March 17 and later replaced them with cheaper agency workers, citing £100 million ($132 million) year-on-year loss.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said The European Causeway had been released “following a reinspection of the ferry over the past two days.”
The reinspection took place at the request of P&O, the agency said.
The spokesperson added that no further inspections of P&O Ferries were planned for the weekend.
On April 1, the Insolvency Service confirmed it had “commenced formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries.”
Meanwhile, Britons travelling to France via the Channel Tunnel have been advised to bring food and drink as lengthy queues continue at the Port of Dover due to a shortage of ferries caused by the suspension of sailings by P&O Ferries.
In a statement provided to the PA news agency, Kent Resilience Forum said Operation Brock—a contingent trafficking system in case of cross-Channel disruption after Brexit—was ensuring that the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel received a “constant supply” of HGVs on Saturday.
However, it added that tourist traffic to the same tunnels remained delayed due to diversions caused by the operation.
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