P&O accuses Coastguard of ‘unprecedented rigour’ after two ships detained
P&O Ferries accused today the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) of displaying “an unprecedented level of rigour” after it detained two of the firm’s ships.
The European Causeway and Pride of Kent vessels were detained in the last few days over safety concerns, as government scrutiny around P&O increased following the layoff of around 800 seafarers.
“It is clear that – following interventions by ministers and MPs – the MCA inspections have reached an unprecedented level of rigour, and we have been told that our ships will also now be required to pass further inspections by the flag state and classification society respectively,” said a spokesperson for the company.
“We welcome this additional scrutiny and would reiterate that the safety of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority.
“Any suggestion that it is being compromised in any way is categorically false.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps told Parliament today P&O “will not be able to rush new crews through training and expect those ships to sail.”
The transport secretary added that he had written to the chief executive of the Insolvency Service, saying P&O’s boss Peter Hebblewaite should resign.
“I’ve written to the CEO of the Insolvency Service, conveying my firm belief that Peter Hebblethwaite is unfit to lead a British company,” he told the House of Commons. “And I have asked them to consider his disqualification.”
P&O’s labour practices continue to be at the centre of speculation, as the company plans to extend the seafarers’ rota from a ‘one week on, one week off’ model to change crew every fortnight to save costs.
According to occupational psychologist Andrew Smith, who looked into roster issues for P&O in 2012, the switch could lead to higher levels of stress and fatigue in workers.
“We found that crews on the Dover-Calais routes experienced very high levels of stress and fatigue that potentially could have compromised safety,” he told Sky News.
“Extending from the current one week patterns to two weeks would not be recommended on the basis of what we saw.”