Two P & O ferry vessels are being inspected as the company is about to resume normal operations after replacing nearly 800 seafarers with cheaper labor.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) provides Port State Control (PSC) inspections for the European Highlander, which normally operates between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland, and the Liverpool-Dublin route. Said it was in progress.
Of the eight vessels subject to inspection, two have resumed navigation, two have been detained after a failed inspection, and the other two are awaiting inspection.
A spokesperson for the MCA on Thursday said the surveyor was conducting a full inspection of European highlanders before returning to service. ship. “
A spokeswoman said the Norbay inspection, which began on Wednesday, is underway.
“At this point, there are no more inspections for P & O ferries, but we will re-inspect them at the request of P & O ferries,” the statement said.
Acquired by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, P & O Ferry fired 786 UK-based seafarers on March 17 without prior notice, followed by £ 100 million (100 million). Caused anger when quoting $ 32 million) and replacing it with a cheaper agency worker) year-over-year loss.
The company suspended most voyages, but the turmoil was reportedly expected to last up to 10 days.
Following the mass dismissal of seafarers, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps ordered the MCA to carry out a detailed inspection of all P & O vessels under the PSC regime. According to the International Maritime Organization, equipment complies with the requirements of international regulations and vessels must be manned and operated in accordance with these rules.
So far, only Pride of Hull has passed the inspection for the first time and has been able to resume operations between Kingston upon Hull in the United Kingdom and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The European Causeway was detained on March 25 after being considered “inappropriate” to sail “due to crew proficiency, ship documentation, and crew training failures.” After re-examination, it was released on April 8th.
Reportedly, the MCA discovered that the European Causeway’s “arrangement for a survival craft launch” was “not needed.”
Other flaws identified by the MCA included inflatable evacuation slides that were not properly maintained, inadequate fire protection systems, and crew members who were unfamiliar with radio equipment.
There were also problems with working conditions, navigation, and documentation.
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding, an alliance of 27 national maritime authorities, including the United Kingdom, listed 31 security flaws but did not provide further details.
Kent’s pride was detained on March 28 and remains detained after a second inspection on April 13 identified “additional defects.” And the Spirit of Britain was detained on April 12.
This led to a lack of ferry capacity for Easter on the major Dover-Curry route, causing a large number of heavy trucks to line up on Kent’s coastal roads.
P & O has not yet asked the MCA to inspect the remaining two vessels and re-inspect the detained vessels.
On Tuesday, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh accused the company of being a “fraudulent operator” who “cuts the corner and endangers Britain’s major routes.”
In a statement, P & O Ferry said that “any proposal” that safety was compromised was “resolutely wrong.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
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Lily Zhou is a freelance writer who mainly covers the British news of The Epoch Times.