A P&O ferry has been detained in Northern Ireland for being ‘unfit to sail’. 

The European Causeway vessel has been held in Larne due to ‘failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training’, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said. 

Last week, the company sparked outrage by sacking almost 800 seafarers and announcing plans to replace them with agency staff on cheaper salaries. 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he will not compromise the safety of P&O vessels and insisted that the company will not be able to rush training for inexperienced people. 

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: ‘We can confirm that the European Causeway has been detained in Larne. 

‘It has been detained due to 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 there were no passengers or freight on board the European Causeway vessel when it was detained. 

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Mr Shapps tweeted: ‘Following my instruction to inspect all P&O vessels prior to entering back into service, the @MCA_Media has detained a ship for being unfit to sail. 

‘I will not compromise the safety of these vessels and P&O will not be able to rush inexperienced crew through training.’ 

The detention of ships is based on concerns over their safety and to prevent them going to sea. 

The European Causeway entered service in 2000 replacing the Pride of Rathlin, according to the P&O Ferries website. 

‘Specifically designed for our Cairnryan to Larne route, she has not operated elsewhere and has only been taken out of service if she needs a refit,’ the website said. 

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed Mr Shapps’ call for P&O Ferries’ chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite to quit, over the sacking of 800 workers without notice. 

In Larne, the local mayor of the Mid and East Antrim Council, William McCaughey, said they would support the reinstatement of the staff immediately. 

‘It is ridiculous what P&O has done to the staff, we in Larne would be very keen to see staff reinstated, it is the least that P&O could do,’ he said. 

Meanwhile, the RMT union said it welcomed the detention of the European Causeway and it demanded the Government ‘seize the entire fleet’ of P&O vessels. 

General secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘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. 

‘This mob should be barred, their ships impounded, and the sacked crews reinstated to get these crucial ferry routes back running safely.’ 

P&O has said 729 of the 786 seafarers affected are in discussions to progress with severance offers.

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