Ferry safety shock

FEARS for passenger safety threw ferry services between Newhaven and Dieppe into chaos this week.

After an inspection by French and UK safety teams on Thursday last week an order was made to ban the Sardinia Vera from carrying passengers.

Inspectors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the French Centre de S curit Affaires Maritimes said the crew lacked essential fire and emergency drill proficiency.

Fire doors were left open, searches and general control of the drill was inadequate and there was free access to the car decks while the ship was at sea.

Deficiencies found in an inspection earlier in the year, which the ship had been given time to put right, had also been neglected.

Bosses from ferry operator Transmanche made a decision to cancel all crossings on Friday so crew could be retrained during the weekend. The ferry remained docked in Dieppe.

Transmanche hoped it would get a clean bill of health during a further check on Wednesday.

But instead, inspectors listed 31 deficiencies, including leaking bow doors and the sprinkler system not working properly.

Another emergency drill was held which was still unsatisfactory.

'Serious problems with the vessel s internal safety management system, which ensures all safety checks are carried out regularly, were found.

As the Sussex Express went to press yesterday (Thursday) the year-round conventional ferry, which is chartered from Mediterranean operator Corsica Ferries, had been forced to turn way business estimated at up to 150,000.

Bryan Hopkins, the inspector in charge of the MCA team, joined the ship on its voyage from Newhaven last week.

He said: 'We are not satisfied that this ship and its crew are safe to continue service as a passenger ferry.

'For the carriage of large numbers of passengers we expect a very high standard of emergency preparedness in the crew.

'This crew fell short of that standard and needed further training before we could consider lifting our prohibition.

This costly blow came just days after Transmarche recorded its busiest month since its crossings began in March. During November it carried 15,000 vehicles and 8,000 passengers.

Transmanche Newhaven operations manager Steve Forrest said: 'In the run-up to Christmas a lot of passengers rely on trips to get food and drink. Those are the people that have been let down by the delay.

'We are waiting to hear what Corsica Ferries are doing about it. They are sending up a team from Italy to look into the problems and resolve them as soon as possible.