a blocked ship, employees called to mobilize in Calais and England
The company again and again in turmoil. An additional P&O ship was blocked in England on Wednesday for security reasons.
“Several problems”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) explained that this vessel, the ‘Spirit of Britain’, was not allowed to sail due to several safety issues identified during an inspection.
“The Spirit of Britain was detained because investigators identified a number of shortcomings which were grounds for detention“, indicated the MCA without further details.
Two gatherings
800 British sailors were made redundant on March 17. The CGT points a lack of competence of the new crew which is mostly made up of foreigners.
“On the operational level, the company is below allreport André Haffreingue, employee and member of the CGT. The new crew isn’t trained for that. We were dealing with sailors who were professionals, in practice for a very long time on ships. Here we are dealing with people who come from all walks of life, who did not ask for a sailor’s past. They therefore cannot meet the safety requirements.”
The CGT calls on its employees to gather next Tuesday at 2 p.m. On the British side, a call for mobilization is also launched at the same time, 1 p.m. in England.
A month off
The takeover of the company is therefore still applied. The company said crossings would remain suspended until Friday at the earliest, but thee could be canceled by the decision of the MCA.
Road traffic around the ferry terminal in Calais will therefore not improve immediately. P&O has now been shut down for a month.
Another ship out of the five will sail for the Dover-Calais link, the “Pride of Kent”, remains immobilized.