A P&O Ferries ship has been detained in Larne for being “unfit to sail”. The European Causeway vessel has been held in the Northern Ireland port due to “failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training”, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said he would not compromise the safety of P&O vessels and insisted that the company was not able to rush training for inexperienced people. The company sacked almost 800 seafarers and replaced them with agency staff on cheaper salaries.
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “We can confirm that the European Causeway had been detained in Larne. “It has been detained due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training. The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved by P&O Ferries. Only then will it be reinspected.”
