P&O has resumed freight services on the Dover-to-Calais route, almost six weeks after suspending sailings following the sacking of 800 seafaring staff.
Freight sailings restarted when the ‘Spirit of Britain’ ship set sail from Dover on Tuesday evening and passenger services are expected to resume next week.
Cleared
ITV reports that the vessel was cleared to sail last Friday after being detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on 12 April when safety issues were found.
According to Kent Online, the vessel had made a crossing from Dover on Monday at 12.35pm, returning from Calais several hours later.
Boycott calls
P&O has started selling tickets for its cross-Channel trips aboard Spirit of Britain, reports Sky News.
However, unions are tipped to call on freight firms and holidaymakers to boycott the company over its treatment of workers.
Irish Sea issues
P&O faced issues on another route when ‘The European Causeway’, which can carry 410 passengers, was left stranded five miles off the coast of Larne in the Irish Sea for more than an hour on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Independent, the vessel’s automatic identification system status was set to “not under command”, which is reserved for use when a vessel is “unable to manoeuvre as required by these rules and is therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel”.
Temporary issue
A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said it had been a temporary issue and the ferry had travelled to Larne “under its own propulsion”.
According to the BBC, the ship has been ordered to remain at Larne Port until it passes an inspection by the MCA.