P&O Ferries has suspended sailings ahead of a “major announcement”.
A statement which appears to be from the ferry operator posted on Twitter by Hull Labour MP Karl Turner said it “will be making a major announcement today”.
This will “secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries”, it explained.
.@POferries have apparently instructed their crews both ratings and officers to tie up vessel’s as they are making a ‘major’ announcement today. This is troubling for crews and their families. I am in contact with ratings and officer unions regarding this. pic.twitter.com/W2Kh5WNval
— Karl Turner MP (@KarlTurnerMP) March 17, 2022
The statement added: “To facilitate this announcement all our vessels have been asked to discharge their passengers and cargo and standby for further instructions.
“This means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today.”
P&O Ferries wrote on Twitter: “Regretfully, P&O Ferries services are unable to run for the next few hours.
“Our port teams will guide you and travel will be arranged via an alternative operator.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this will have on your journey plans.”
Regretfully, P&O Ferries services are unable to run for the next few hours. Our Port Teams will guide you and travel will be arranged via an alternative operator.
— P&O Ferries (@POferries) March 17, 2022
We apologise for the inconvenience this will have on your journey plans.
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, is owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World.
It operates these four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland to Larne, Northern Ireland.
Sailings between Hull and Zeebrugge, Belgium, were axed in January 2021.
Following the coronavirus outbreak, P&O Ferries warned in May 2020 that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business “viable and sustainable”.
The company that would become P&O was founded in 1837 after signing a government contract to transport post by boat between London and the Iberian Peninsula.
