P&O Ferry Confined to N Irish Port With ‘Sack and Replace’ Crew Not Shipshape

British ferry and cruise firm P&O has provoked condemnation and protests from trade unions and all major political parties after it sacked all its serving crew members without warning or consultation via video message last week.

A P&O ferry has been declared "unfit to sail" from a Northern Irish port over safety concerns after the low-wage crew hired to replace sacked workers were found to be poorly trained.

The European Causeway vessel was forbidden from sailing from the port of Larne in County Antrim after officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) found "failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training".

"The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved by P&O Ferries. Only then will it be reinspected", the MCA said in a statement.

The firm drew condemnation from across the political spectrum last week after it made all 800 of its regular crew redundant last week in a bombshell announcement by video, without consulting with their trade union representatives.

Unions have since raised the alarm after discovering that the temporary workers hired to replace the sacked staff were being paid just £5.50 or less per hour, way below the legal National Living Wage.

The ship serves the route between Larne and the Scottish port of Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway.

Seafarers' union the RMT welcomed the MCA's seizure of the ship.

"The seizing of the European Causeway by the MCA tonight shows that the gangster capitalist outfit P&O are not fit and proper to run a safe service after the jobs massacre", RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said. "This mob should be barred, their ships impounded and the sacked crews reinstated to get these crucial ferry routes back running safely".

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he had ordered the MCA to check all P&O ferries to ensure the new crews are properly trained.

"Following my instruction to inspect all P&O vessels prior to entering back into service, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has detained a ship for being unfit to sail", Shapps tweeted. "I will not compromise the safety of these vessels and P&O will not be able to rush inexperienced crew through training".