P&O Ferry ADRIFT in the Irish Sea with up to 410 passengers aboard: RNLI launches as ship issues emergency alert saying it is 'not under command' while five miles from Larne - a month after firm replaced 800 UK staff with cheap foreign crews
Brilliant reporting by the mail.. The gigantic ferry was toed into port by the lifeboat!!
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 3:19 pm
by TheGreenGoblin
That DM report is so bad that I was moved to find a more reputable source...
A P&O ferry from Scotland to Northern Ireland has regained power after spending hours adrift in the Irish Sea.
The European Causeway, which can carry up to 410 passengers, has docked at Larne Harbour.
It left Cairnryan at about 12:00 BST and was due to arrive at Larne Harbour at 14:00 but got into trouble at 13:30.
P&O said the incident was caused by a mechanical issue that had been resolved and a full independent inspection would take place.
"Following a temporary mechanical issue, the European Causeway is now continuing on its scheduled journey to the Port of Larne under its own propulsion, with local tugs on standby, where it will discharge its passengers and cargo as planned," said a P&O spokesperson.
No injuries have been reported and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) told the BBC there were no concerns over the safety of passengers.
Safety concerns
P&O has experienced difficulties in the last few months, having sacked 800 of its workers across the UK without notice.
Last month, a report recorded 31 failures, including an inability to safely deploy lifeboats or life rafts, on the ferry.
The European Causeway was held in Larne by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) from 25 March after an inspection raised safety concerns.
Although P&O recruited new staff, the MCA detained the European Causeway saying it was concerned about "failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training".
The 22-year-old ship was not cleared to sail until April 8 following another examination.
Cruise ship support
On Tuesday afternoon, RNLI lifeboat from Larne and Red Bay were launched and tugs from Larne and Belfast were also deployed to guide the ferry back to port, P&O tweeted.
I was expecting European Causeway passengers to be disgruntled after being stuck for hours at sea.
But many I spoke to as they came off the ferry said the situation remained calm on board.
They praised staff for keeping them informed.
Passenger Tommy Goodwin said it had been "quite nerve-wracking" when the ship suddenly stopped.
"The captain did make a couple of announcements to let us know it was the engines," he said.
"The crew were very helpful - they had a good grasp on the situation."
At one point, Mr Goodwin thought passengers were going to be airlifted off the boat.
"There were helicopters out… we thought we were going to have to be rescued if the engines didn't pick up."
Bit of a non story it seems.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 5:17 pm
by Pontius Navigator
Few years ago, P&O cruise across the Atlantic we were Sun bathing and it got warmer as wind across the deck died away and things went quiet.
It was very pleasant in the Wide Sargasso Sea.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 5:57 pm
by Boac
Bit of a non story it seems.
I guess losing all 4 main engines, 2 standby engine and a back-up generator and drifting in a busy shipping lane for an hour is not really THAT serious............
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 6:05 pm
by om15
a month after firm replaced 800 UK staff with cheap foreign crews
That was the bit that seems a non story.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 6:43 pm
by TheGreenGoblin
The Panglossian spirit abides I see... that or just sheer inhumanity,,,
Proper maintenance, standards, training etc. be damned. Low standards, maximum profit for the company with a lack of respect for the working person who should be paid sub-economic wages, greed and self, uber alles.
Look where that led with The Herald of Free Enterprise!
If you don't speak Dutch, don't worry, there is plenty of English here too...
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:32 pm
by jimtherev
... and who owned Townsend-Thoresen, "Herald"'s owners?
P&O Ferries.
But that's just a coincidence, of course.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:10 pm
by barkingmad
Tonight UK Channel 5 featured yet another program on the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster and flagged up more contributory factors.
I had not previously been aware that the vessel had been ballasted nose heavy in dock pre-departure to enable vehicles to be loaded from otherwise unsuitable dock ramps and pumping that ballast out to restore normal trim took hours to complete.
Also the motion of the ship over a sandbank caused suction between hull and sand causing further lowering of the bow as that section transited over the sandbank.
Nor was there a passenger manifest for all pax aboard...
Watching it I was reminded of the holes in the Swiss cheese and wonder when the next ‘preventable’ major transport accident will occur.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:10 am
by OFSO
One of our secretaries and her fiancee died in that disaster. Changed tickets to get to a family event. Bodies were not found for a month.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 9:18 am
by barkingmad
Our elected representatives have looked at the problem of corporate responsibility as illustrated in this sad litany of disasters over a period of time;
But AFAIK nothing has been passed in the House of Commons except for a lot of hot air and the usual baying noises. From the ending of that reference;
“Conclusion. 68. The new offence of corporate manslaughter will now permit the effective prosecution of those large organisations who have, through their senior managers, shown gross failures in the conduct of their activities as a result of which a death has been caused.
69. This Bill is long overdue and, subject to our proposed modifications, it is to be welcomed.
But not many cases have succeeded despite the scandals since then?
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 10:05 am
by G-CPTN
On our frequent and regular North Sea crossings, my wife insisted that we stayed on deck for the departure until the ferry was 'at sea'.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 10:40 am
by OFSO
I also did that.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 10:44 am
by k3k3
... and when "at sea" and inside always being aware of the nearest way of getting outside. Just like counting the number of seat rows to the nearest exit when flying.
Re: Ferry Fiasco
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 12:54 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
I cannot find the references now, and everyone involved was desperate to avoid it being mentioned, but I am pretty sure a cross-Channel ferry overturned the year before, 1986. It was not in service, no one got killed, and the ship was refloated, so it doesn't appear as an accident report. I think it was just outside Dover harbour. The cause was the same - open bow doors. The inquiry recommended changing the labelling on the lifejacket lockers, nothing else.
And you can find this right across all industries and nations. Government will cover up for big operators, and allow them to do whatever they like, until the disaster. Then they all claim no one saw it coming.
The Lac Megantic rail disaster in Canada is another fine example of this, as indeed is the Boeing Max. The Hatfield and Ladbroke Grove rail crashes in the UK make it clear what the real cause is. It's a government minister, usually on the direct orders of the PM, deliberately both lifting safety regulations - especially by allowing companies to write their own and then rubber-stamping them - together with an emasculation of the safety authorities (underbudgeting is a favourite).
