WATCH: P&O ferry that was adrift now back in Larne port

Tuesday, 26 April 2022 15:38

By Q Radio News

A P&O ferry that was adrift six miles off the east Antrim coast, sparking a major air and sea emergency, is now back in Larne port.

The European Causeway operates between Larne and Cairnryan and can carry in excess of 400 passengers.

It left Cairnryan at around 12pm today and was due at Larne Harbour at 2pm before it experienced mechanical problems and lost power an hour into its journey.

A P&O ferry that was adrift 6 miles off the east Antrim coast, which sparked a major air and sea emergency, is now back in Larne port.

Lifeboats from Portpatrick, Larne, and Waterfoot were dispatched along with a rescue helicopter.

Mark Hillis was on board the ship. pic.twitter.com/tAaACa4027
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) April 26, 2022

Lifeboats from Portpatrick, Larne and Waterfoot were dispatched along with a rescue helicopter.

The ship had only entered full service on Sunday after undergoing an inspection last month during which 31 failures were reported.

Tugs from Larne and Belfast were deployed to guide it back to port with P&O Ferries now saying power to the vessel has been restored.

P&O Ferries also say a full investigation will be carried out after the incident.

According to the tracking website, Marine Traffic, the automatic identification system status of the vessel had been set to “not under command”, which is reserved for use when a vessel is “unable to manoeuvre as required by these rules and is therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel”.

A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said it had been a temporary issue and that the European Causeway was travelling to Larne “under its own propulsion”.

The spokesperson said at the time:

“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.

“There are no reported injuries on board and all the relevant authorities have been informed.

“Once in dock, a full independent investigation will be undertaken.”.”

Due to a mechanical issue with the Causeway in the Irish Sea, tugs from Larne and Belfast were deployed to guide it back to port. Once the ship is back in Port a full inspection will take place.
— P&O Ferries (@POferries) April 26, 2022

A RNLI spokesperson said that three lifeboats had been sent to the scene.

The spokesperson said:

“Three RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch this afternoon to assist a passenger ferry in difficulty one mile south east of The Maidens.

“Larne RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat launched at 2.17pm, while Red Bay’s RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat launched at 2.35pm followed by the inshore lifeboat at 3pm.

“All lifeboats are currently on scene.”

P&O Ferries said earlier this afternoon that the vessel had been affected by a “mechanical issue”.

The company tweeted: “Due to a mechanical issue with the Causeway in the Irish Sea, tugs from Larne and Belfast were deployed to guide it back to port.

“Once the ship is back in Port a full inspection will take place.”

The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ Union (RMT) said the reports were “deeply concerning, not least for the agency crew and passengers on board”.

The European Causeway had been detained at Larne after an initial inspection by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on March 25 uncovered 31 safety failings.

This was due to safety concerns after the company sacked nearly 800 seafarers and replaced them with cheaper agency workers.

The ship was cleared to resume serving the Larne-Cairnryan route a fortnight later following another examination.