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Original poster

P&O Ferries - major announcement today. All ships in port

511 replies

cakeorwine · 17/03/2022 10:40

Gosh. I wonder what's going on

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60779001

OP posts:
Original poster
cakeorwine · 17/03/2022 10:40

A spokesperson said: "P&O Ferries is not going into liquidation. We have asked all ships to come alongside, in preparation for a company announcement. Until then, services from P&O will not be running and we are advising travellers of alternative arrangements."

The cross-Channel operator has said on Twitter that sailings between Dover and Calais scheduled for 11:10am, 11:15am and 12:35pm will no longer run, and customers with tickets were instructed to check-in to rival ferry company DFDS' services.

In a message sent to staff, the company said the company announcement "will secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries" and has the backing of Dubai-based DP World, which bought the ferry company for £322m in 2019.

OP posts:
MoiraNotRuby · 17/03/2022 10:44

I can't think of a Good reason to cause all that disruption, they must be financially up shit creek surely? Though you'd expect them to have a paddle Wink

MissAmbrosia · 17/03/2022 10:45

Just had a look at some of my Dover FB groups - everyone is agog but noone knows what is happening.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Holidays
MissAmbrosia · 17/03/2022 10:45

DH is speculating about russian money

BringBackCoffeeCreams · 17/03/2022 10:49

The government have found their conscience down the back of a sofa and are commandeering all the ferries to help transport refugees to the UK?

Suzi888 · 17/03/2022 10:51

Follow the money- or lack of.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 17/03/2022 10:51

Just saw this announcement. Other than mass redundancies or collecting refugees, I don’t what else it could be.

Original poster
cakeorwine · 17/03/2022 10:54

They must have had a hard time over the past couple of years - but the demand for summer holidays must be there. I guess that their costs must have increased significantly recently

OP posts:
rainbowandglitter · 17/03/2022 10:58

I assumed its going under as not sure what else it could be .

needingpeace · 17/03/2022 10:59

How interesting. Keep us posted

MissAmbrosia · 17/03/2022 10:59

Just saw this on Twitter

P&O Ferries - major announcement today. All ships in port
needingpeace · 17/03/2022 10:59

Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was to go and get the refugees.

InTheCludgie · 17/03/2022 11:00

Following with interest, have the ferry booked for July returning from Rotterdam.

PaddleBoardingMomma · 17/03/2022 11:01

@needingpeace

Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was to go and get the refugees.
It would be, but seeing as it's a company only geared towards profits it seems far more likely they are going to sack everyone and employ the cheapest labour they can find from overseas.
Bonitalazenia · 17/03/2022 11:04

Never seen this before, 3 ferries in the cruise terminal….

P&O Ferries - major announcement today. All ships in port
SpinningTheSeedsOfLove · 17/03/2022 11:04

It's certainly being suggested that there will be mass sackings of UK workers, to be replaced with 'cheaper' workers from elsewhere. Hence why the ships have to be in port.

WhatisanODP · 17/03/2022 11:05

Sacking all the staff?! No! Surely not!! That would be insane

PeterPomegranate · 17/03/2022 11:06

How would that work - have they got the foreign workers in the ports waiting and they’ll march the U.K. crew off?? Also don’t the U.K. crews have employment rights??

SoupDragon · 17/03/2022 11:07

I can't see how they can sack all the U.K. workers.

BarbaraofSeville · 17/03/2022 11:09

If they're not going bust it will be a version of it. The company and debt being sold for a token sum and restarted as a new company.

Going to collect refugees would be nice, but are they actually somewhere accessible to ferries that normally go backwards and forwards across the North Sea/English Channel?

If there was going to be a 'mass ferry collection of refugees' said refugees would need to be first bussed from Eastern Europe to France, Belgium or Holland, which would take a day or two at least so not the reason for a surprise halting of the ferries.

cakeorwine · 17/03/2022 11:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PaddleBoardingMomma · 17/03/2022 11:09

Stena did something similar many years ago when I worked for them, they keep most staff on zero hour contracts and out of the union so you have essentially no rights. Irish ferries have a huge percentage of Polish crew, they sacked all the Irish and British seafarers years ago. I'm not shocked at all.

girlmom21 · 17/03/2022 11:10

If they were sacking all staff would they really be doing to so publicly and dramatically?

Igotjelly · 17/03/2022 11:11

How strange!

PaddleBoardingMomma · 17/03/2022 11:11

@girlmom21

If they were sacking all staff would they really be doing to so publicly and dramatically?
They wouldn't have much choice. They would need to be in port to do so, not at sea. Which means coming alongside and having huge delays to sailings which they would need to explain, so they sort of have to make it public as to what is happening. I'm sure they'd keep it hush hush if they could, but the massive amount of freight backing up through Dover is a bit of a giveaway