Dover, UK: Another of P&O Ferries’ vessels has been detained after inspectors found a “number of deficiencies”, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
The Spirit of Britain ship cannot sail and it is unlikely that P&O Ferries will be able to resume its Dover operations before the Easter weekend.
The Pride of Kent – another vessel used on the Dover-Calais route and pictured above – remains under detention after failing a safety inspection.
P&O’s Dover-Calais routes are currently suspended and the company has said it will not resume services on the route before Friday at the earliest.
The Pride of Hull and European Causeway have been cleared to sail. The lack of ferries will further disrupt travel between Dover and Calais.
Logistics UK called for a “rapid reinstatement of full ferry capacity” before the Easter weekend to help reduce long lorry queues.
The transport industry body raised concerns over drivers being stuck in queues without access to toilets, washing facilities, food and water.
It blamed Operation Brock, the traffic management system intended to keep vehicles moving across the English Channel, and called for the plan, which allows lorries to use one entire side of the M20 into Dover, to be reviewed “urgently”.
Operation Brock normally has the capacity for around 2,000 lorries, but it is holding up to twice that number. Heidi Skinner, policy manager at Logistics UK, said: “HGV drivers must be given access to basic welfare facilities while in long queues,” she said.
“This review is needed urgently, and we must consider how our HGV drivers can be better provided for when there are delays in accessing our ports in Kent.”
