P&O Ferries cancel Dover – Calais services over Easter weekend

The Spirit of Britain became the latest vessel to fail a Port State Control inspection by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the UK. Another vessel the Pride of Kent was detained on earlier in April having failed an inspection on 28 March.

An MCA statement said: “All inspections have to satisfy the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that the ferries fulfil the requirement of the Port State Control regime and are safe to put to sea. There are no further inspections of P&O Ferries at the moment but we will reinspect at the appropriate time.”

P&O Ferries said on social media that all passenger services on the Dover – Calais route were suspended from 15 – 18 April. It is another blow for the company as the four-day Easter Weekend is a peak period for passenger traffic.

The mass sackings on 17 March by a three-minute pre-recorded video have drawn outrage in the UK and attracted global media attention.

The ferry company, part of the DP World group, had expected to be operating within a few days using much lower paid, contract workers. However, it has been dogged by safety concerns and multiple vessels have failed PSC inspections.

The company has managed to get its route between Cairnryan in Galloway, Scotland and Larne in Ireland up running.

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