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What a difference a month can make.

Once an uncontroversial British cross-Channel ferry service, Ferries appears to have dramatically fallen from grace in just several weeks.

And as its European Causeway vessel drifted out to sea for more than an hour last week, it appeared to be a fitting metaphor for the ferry operator’s current troubles: Adrift.

The P&O Ferries drama began with the mass layoff of hundreds of experienced seafarers and their replacement with untrained £5.50-an-hour agency workers on March 17.But it has seen mass protests by furious workers, weeks of gridlock on the roads to the Port of Dover, and unions and politicians of the Left and Right effectively hand-in-hand demanding retribution.

And for many, beleaguered CEO Peter Hebblethwaite became not just the lightning rod or symbol of the perceived injustice meted out, but its very embodiment.

At the most intense stage of the scandal, the millionaire told MPs while giving testimony at a committee session in the House of Commons that the company had broken the law by sacking the staff without consulting trade unions.His unwillingness to answer whether he could live on the £5.50 an hour he was paying the new workers was just too much for some MPs to stomach. 

So just how did P&O Ferries end up in this position of crisis?

MARCH 17: P&O SACKS NEARLY 800 SEAFARERS VIA ZOOM AND CANCELS UPCOMING SERVICES

For the 786 turning up to work on March 17, they could hardly have suspected that they would soon be without a job.

Indeed, just four months earlier, a company promo video proudly highlighted the benefits of working at P&O, declaring: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a career…It’s family.’ 

But in an online Zoom call at 10.30am that Thursday morning, staff were stunned to discover they were all being made redundant with immediate effect.

A senior executive explained to staff that the company’s financial situation was less than ideal. P&O Ferries Holdings had lost nearly £39million in 2019 and in 2020, when Covid first broke out and prompted governments to impose unprecedented curbs, it lost nearly £86million.

That day, the company said that losses for 2021 had increased to an extraordinary £100million, and – though they losses were covered by its parent company DP World – they were ‘clearly not sustainable in the future’ and that nearly 800 seafarers would be put out of work.

They would be replaced by a ‘third party crew provider’, which turned out to be £5.50-an-hour foreign agency workers.

Also announcing that sailings would be suspended ‘for the next few days’, the executive told staff: ‘As you may be aware the business has been struggling financially for the last few years and has lost around £100million each year for the last two years.

‘Whilst these losses have been covered by P&O Ferries’ parent company, DP World, it’s clearly not sustainable in the future.The business cannot continue to operate like this so it has had to consider a range of different options in order to drastically reduce costs.

‘These circumstances have resulted in a very difficult but necessary decision to restructure P&O Ferries’ workforce and operations in order to protect the future of the business.This was only taken after seriously considering all available options. The company has made the decision that its vessels going forward will be primarily crewed by a third party crew provider.

‘Therefore I’m sorry to inform you that this means your employment is terminated with immediate effect on the grounds of redundancy.Your final day of employment is today.’

MARCH 17: PROTESTS BREAK OUT AND DEFIANT P&O STAFF REFUSE TO LEAVE THE DOCKS

Just hours after P&O Ferries announced the mass redundancies, hundreds of sacked staff held protests and refused to disembark ships at ports in Dover, Hull and Northern Ireland.

Dutchman Eugene Favier, the captain of The Pride of Hull, sealed himself and his 141-strong crew inside the huge vessel using maritime law, refusing to let anyone aboard.

Agency workers had already been waiting at docksides ready to board the ferries, but P&O Ferries was left red-faced after its existing employees refused to leave the docks over the firm’s decision.

To help force its staff to disembark, P&O Ferries allegedly ‘illegally’ hired 16 handcuff-trained officers from a private security firm, with the company telling them the job would last a week and be paid at £14.50 an hour.

Emails sent to security guards drafted in beforehand showed bosses describing a ‘fairly high profile task’ to be dealt with over the course of a week in Dover.Those enlisted were told to bring ‘cuffs and utility belts’ but were informed they would ‘not need body armour for this task’.

The crew of the Pride of Hull eventually left the ship after the standoff came to an end at around 6pm that day.

Dozens of employees gathered outside the union’s Dover office ahead of a protest where fired ferry workers, armed with banners and flags saying ‘Stop the P&O Ferries jobs carve up’, clashed with motorists after blocking a road close to the port of Dover.

A lorry driver trying to enter the port began shouting and beeping at those in the road, before being told ‘we’re not moving’.

One of the protesters, who had worked for the company for decades, later said: ‘I refuse to move from this road, all this service for nothing.The police will have to take me away.’ 

MARCH 17-18: MINISTERS DEMAND TO KNOW WHY P&O SACKED 800 SEAFARERS ON THE SPOT

In the immediate aftermath of the scandal, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps took aim at P&O Ferries in a scathing letter sent after the sudden sacking of 800 crew members while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng slammed the firm for axing staff after taking ‘millions of pounds in furlough payments’.

Mr Shapps said the company had only let a ‘very small group’ of officials know about the decision the night before, meaning it was ‘far too late’ for the Government to intervene.

He said he had instructed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to carry out inspections of all P&O Ferries vessels before they return to sea to check the new crews the company has ‘rushed through’ are safe. 

Mr Kwarteng said the way staff were treated was ‘appalling’ and that P&O Ferries had ‘lost the trust of the public’ and given the business a ‘bad name’.

However, both letters were addressed to P&O Ferries chairman Robert Woods who, according to company records, resigned from the role on December 21.It is understood Mr Woods was still listed as chairman on the company website. Mr Shapps and Mr Kwarteng then wrote letters to the actual chairman, ITV News reported.

In the letter addressed to Mr Woods, and initially posted to Twitter, Mr Shapps said: ‘Following the Maritime Minister’s call with your company yesterday, I am writing to express my anger and disappointment about the action that P&O took yesterday to make 800 seafarers redundant without notice and without consultation.

‘The lack of engagement, of prior notice, or of any empathy whatsoever for your workers that P&O demonstrated yesterday was completely unacceptable.

‘Seafarers make a huge contribution to this country, and many have dedicated years of service to P&O, and I was frankly staggered yesterday at the way you dismissed them with zero respect.

‘While I accept this was a commercial decision for P&O to take, I was also deeply concerned at the way in which this decision was communicated to the Government.

‘Although I understand you told a very small group of officials the evening before the announcement, this was clearly far too late for the Government to engage in something you had obviously been planning for some time and were determined to force through.’

MARCH 17-22: P&O FERRIES IS ACCUSED OF LAW-BREAKING AS CHAOS AT PORTS CONTINUES

For the next week, the news was split between Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the furious denunciations of P&O Ferries’ illegal decision to lay off hundreds of workers without notice. 

Meanwhile, chaos erupted at UK ports with aid prevented from reaching Ukrainians and lorry drivers left waiting for hours.

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