Ferry safety criticised

P&O said its ferries comply with safety regulations

Safety standards on the P&O ferry which sails between Northern Ireland and Scotland have been criticised a report by European motoring associations.

The report on a survey of 26 European ferries said P&O's Pride of Rathlin, which sails from Larne to Cairnryan, had the lowest standards in the UK.

The survey highlighted clogged-up sprinkler nozzles, insufficient emergency information and poorly signposted rescue facilities on the Pride of Rathlin.

Other "poor" performers in the survey, by motoring organisations including the AA, included P&O's Pride of Hampshire (Portsmouth-Cherbourg), and SeaFrance's Monet (Dover-Calais).

But the report was branded "alarmist" by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which said most criticisms related to an agreement which has yet to come into force.

P&O described it as "disgraceful" and said it had many shortcomings.

It's a bit like a driver having the book thrown at him for not having the right tyres even when he doesn't have to

Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman

Investigators also reported unsafe passenger access routes and a lack of stability measures, evacuation slides and fast-rescue boats on the Pride of Rathlin.

AA policy manager Neill Greg said: "The Pride of Rathlin meets all the existing standards, but there are new standards coming up all the time and we are applying these to all the boats and some companies across Europe are managing to fit new equipment and safety standards, but the Pride of Rathlin hasn't got around to that yet."

Three ships, including DFDS Seaways' King of Scandinavia (Newcastle-Amsterdam), were still found to have passenger decks below the water line.

"In the event of a disaster, this can lead to passengers being trapped, but [the decks] are allowed under the regulations," the survey said.

'Training need'

Other problems included passenger emergency information, with many travellers apparently having "no understanding of what to do in the event of an emergency".

On-board safety management and crews' emergency training left much to be desired, the report added.

The report also found locked safety doors, no keys for lifebelt lockers and corroded or worn-out firefighting gear, it stated.

However the report was not all negative it was not all bad news, with five UK-based ferries described as "acceptable", one as "good" and one as "very good".

P&O's Norsun (Hull-Rotterdam), was rated "good" while Stena Line's Stena Discovery (Harwich-Hook of Holland), was rated "very good".

"It is clear that the best performers in this group set the standards to which other ferries must aspire," AA policy director John Dawson said.

"Many of the changes needed are about improvements to important safety details, which can be put right quickly and at little cost."

But the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which inspects vessels sailing from UK ports, questioned the quality of the AA inspections and the report's findings.

Ongoing process

"Many of the negative comments concern non-compliance with the Stockholm Agreement, which does not even come into force until later this year," a spokesman said.

"We think the report is misleading, we think it is alarmist. Improving levels of safety is an ongoing process."

He added that the evacuation slides and fast rescue boats missing from the Pride of Rathlin were already due to be fitted.

A spokesman for P&O Portsmouth said: "Safety is our main concern and all our ships comply fully with regulations."