P&O Ferries: No ships at Larne Port for week

It will be another week before P&O ships can operate from Larne port after the ferry company laid off 800 staff, a Stormont minister said.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Lyons spoke out when it emerged that some crew members are refusing to leave their ships.

Private security officers were dispatched to a ship docked at Larne Harbor in County Antrim to remove staff, the BBC understands.

P&O said it “would not be a viable business” without the changes.

The RMT union said they had advised staff to stay in their posts.

“This decision will have an impact on the economy of Northern Ireland in general,” Lyons said.

“The company has informed us that it will be another week before the ships can operate from the port of Larne.

“While customers have targeted the port of Belfast in the short term, they will not have the ability to ramp up operations sufficiently to meet demand.

“With more than half of all our cargo moving through the port of Larne, this announcement will also cause supply problems for businesses and supermarkets in Northern Ireland, as well as those businesses based here who sell to the UK.”

Mr Lyons is a DUP assembly member for the East Antrim constituency in which Larne is situated.

He said he had been assured by the chief executive of P&O “that there will be no redundancies at the port of Larne and that the company will make an investment in the future to improve the attractiveness of the port”.

“While this is welcome, it does not make today’s announcement and the manner in which it was made any more acceptable.”

An RMT spokesman said it was an “absolutely disgraceful way to treat loyal P&O staff who have worked through the pandemic”.

The RMT union said staff on board at Larne had been told to clear their lockers and leave.

Scheduled P&O services included three between Liverpool and Dublin and seven between Larne and Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway.

Previously, P&O said its survival depended on “making quick and significant changes now.”

The ferry company said a “difficult decision” was made to secure the future of the business.

Union RMT said crew members were being replaced by foreign labour.

He said he has instructed members to stay on board their vessels once they have docked or risk being “fired” from their jobs.

P&O has said its services will not operate for “the next few days”, and passengers have been told to use other carriers.

“In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business,” he said.

“We have had a £100m loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent company DP World.

“This is not sustainable. Without these changes there is no future for P&O Ferries.”

East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson, Lyons’s DUP colleague, said he had spoken to P&O’s chief executive about the decisions he had “taken regarding its shipping operations in Larne and across the UK”.