For those thinking of booking them crossing the channel, I hope your life insurance is up to date. Copy of a recent inspection onboard.
So following the refusal by the port of Dover to allow ITF inspectors onboard the P&O vessels on Tuesday we requested that we be allowed to board the vessel and speak with the crew who had made complaints. Initially the Port and P&O denied us (myself and ITF inspector Liam Wilson) access even though we had notified them in accordance with local procedures and fulfilled security and safety obligations.
Under ISPS (international ship and port security) code I reminded them that labour organisations are to be given access to vessels.
After some time they conceded that we have a right to access in any port.
Upon getting to the vessel it was clear as day that individuals coming down the gangway were not familiar nor comfortable with using a gangway.
We established that whilst the original crew had joined for 4 weeks or 8 weeks there was more and more crew joining with 17 week contracts.
We even got access to the vessel and established the following whilst dealing with Seafarer complaints that had been received.
The nationalities onboard the Spirit of Britain are:
Officers
British
Polish
Romanian
Croatian
Russian
Latvian
Ukrainian
Ratings
Romania
Georgia
Ukrainian
Latvia
Indian
Honduran
Germany
Bulgarian
Mauritius
I spoke with 3 x Honduran crew in the terminal and explained the situation with P&O Ferries, our safety concerns and the scheduling of ferry services would mean that once they join the vessel, if the vessel is to run to schedule, given the intensity of the run (hence our safety concerns) they only have 50 mins in port and they will not set foot on dry land for shore leave for 17 weeks as there is no time to do so......the colour drained from their faces and I think they realised they were joining a ferry and not a P&O cruise ship!
The contract that the Hondurans have been issued is basic payment of $961 per month for 40 hours work per week. This equates to £748 per month for living away from family, onboard a vessel, away from loved ones on the most intensive Ferry route in Uk. Less than £200 per week for basic hours!
They have overtime hours and a bonus, but the reason they keep the basic rate of pay low is that if they are sick / injured or die then the quantum used for formulas is “basic pay”.
The fact that the spirit of Britain has been released from detention does not mean it is safe!
Let me explain why:
when an MCA inspection is carried out it is a snapshot at that particular moment in time. With new crew joining it has taken them over a month to be able to pass, with no passengers onboard and the vessels not sailing they have done nothing but drills.
With the majority of the original crew joining for 8 weeks, within the next 4 weeks there will be a major crew change, irrespective of the fact that the vessel has passed an MCA inspection it will become a highly dangerous vessel in a very short space of time with new crew joining.
The crewing model that P&O is attempting to implement is based on bringing in EU seafarers initially on 8 week contracts and steadily phasing them out over the next couple of months with cheaper labour on longer contracts from India, Honduras etc
Those crew who have returned and assisted the company subconsciously know what they have done is wrong and will also have to deal with the consequences of accepting this, helping the company to bring in a model that jeopardises the safety of crew, passengers and other vessels and will be held responsible when fatalities occur, and they will occur!!
These vessels are not safe and pose a risk to all that sail on them and I hope that the detail in this post will clarify some of the concerns, bring a sense of reality from just one vessel and convince you to encourage others not endanger the life of your family, your friends, your employees by sailing with P&O just because it has been declared safe to sail yesterday.
RMT will be announcing dates for further protests at P&O, we will continue to fight for improved safety standards and we are campaigning for a fair ferries framework on all ferries and scheduled services from the UK centred around decent employment which is permanent employment, dignity and respect for seafarers, safe roster patterns but feel it's important for the public, hauliers, coach companies and members of every trade union not to be fooled by any media reports or propaganda from P&O declaring the vessels as safe following extensive scrutiny by MCA.
Please share far and wide.