P&O Ferries: Protests at ports against sackings

Protests have taken place at ports over P&O Ferries' sacking of 800 workers in favour of lower-paid replacements.

Unions rallied at Dover, Hull and Liverpool, chanting slogans such as "don't go P&O" and "seize the ship". They say crews without experience of the vessels are a danger to shipping.

It comes after authorities detained P&O Ferries' European Causeway in Northern Ireland, saying it was "unfit to sail".

P&O Ferries said it would make changes to return the ship to service.

Protestors from the RMT union are attempting to block access to the Pride of Rotterdam in Hull docks. They want customers to boycott the company.

Meanwhile, the Trades Union Congress tweeted a video it said showed P&O dockers in Rotterdam refusing to load freight onto a ferry set for Hull in solidarity with sacked workers.

Unions have raised fears over a lack of training of new crew, after the firm replaced their members with workers whose average hourly rate of pay would be £5.50, less than the UK minimum wage.

As the company's ships operate internationally and are registered overseas, the UK minimum hourly rate of £8.91 does not apply.

At the Dover protest, RMT union national secretary Darren Procter said: "Bringing a crew on board a vessel they're not familiar with to sail across the busiest shipping lane in the world, carrying passengers, is going to be a dangerous act."

He said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) should detain every P&O Ferries vessel around the UK, on the basis they are not fit to sail.

On Saturday, the MCA said the European Causeway had been impounded in Larne over "failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training".

No passengers or freight were aboard, it said, adding that the vessel would remain under detention until all issues were resolved by P&O Ferries.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on social media that the European Causeway's detention followed an instruction from him to the MCA to inspect "all P&O vessels" before they entered back into service.

"I will not compromise the safety of these vessels, and P&O will not be able to rush inexperienced crew through training," he added.

P&O Ferries said it would review the findings of the MCA's inspection, "make any changes required and continue to work closely with the MCA to return the ship to service".

The company told customers on Twitter that its services between Larne and Cairnryan, in Scotland, were suspended. "It is no longer possible for us to arrange travel via an alternative operator," it added.

Seamus Leheny, of freight industry body Logistics UK, said rival ferry operator Stena had increased capacity through Belfast by 50% but the situation was still causing difficulties for businesses.

"It's not sustainable to have so much freight coming through Belfast... we want that Larne service back up and running as soon as possible," he added.

P&O Ferries services between Dover and Calais remain cancelled. The firm said it would organise an alternative carrier for passengers.

Saturday evening's service from Rotterdam to Hull is also suspended, the firm said - but the evening service from Hull to Rotterdam is expected to sail on time.