Dublin Ferry Withdrawn From Service After Positive COVID-19 test

By: Steven Tarbox
Date:
P&O Ferries NORBANK seen arriving in Dublin at the end of September 2018. Copyright © Robbie Cox.
P&O Ferries NORBANK. Copyright © Robbie Cox.

Liverpool – Dublin ship tied up with multiple crew members isolating

P&O Ferries NORBANK was withdrawn from service over the weekend after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19 it has emerged. The ship is currently tied up in the port away from the ferry berths. She arrived at Liverpool from Dublin as normal on Friday evening. While only one crew member has tested positive, it is understood that additional crew members are also isolating away from the ship as a precaution.

Robust Procedures

According to the Liverpool Echo, a spokesperson from P&O Ferries said:

“The health and well-being of P&O Ferries’ passengers and crew is the company’s foremost priority.

“If any employee tests positive for Covid19, then the relevant authorities and employees are informed through the company’s robust internal procedures and to support UK track and trace systems.

“Last week, one member of crew on our Liverpool-Dublin route tested positive for Covid19 and is now self-isolating.

“P&O Ferries is supporting self-isolating crew and they are being provided with test kits.

“We are cooperating with all the relevant authorities and taking all the necessary precautions stipulated in government guidance.”

Third case

Confirmation of the positive test on NORBANK comes just days after it was confirmed a second crew member onboard PRIDE OF HULL has also tested positive for COVID-19. That ship continues to sail, however, with a number of crew members transferred to the laid up PRIDE OF YORK to isolate. PRIDE OF YORK remains out of service due to low demand as a result of the pandemic. Her running mate PRIDE OF BRUGES recently returned to service on the Hull – Zeebrugge route.

PRIDE OF YORK. P&O Ferries.

NORBANK‘s sister-ship NORBAY has been undergoing planned maintenance on Tyneside but is now on her way back to Liverpool. She is expected to arrive on Merseyside on Wednesday. NORBAY and NORBANK are the only ships on the route which carry non-commercial driver passengers. In the meantime, the chartered Ro-Ro freight ships MISTRAL and CLIPPER PENNANT have been maintaining the Dublin – Liverpool route in the absence of both Ro-Pax sisters.


Polite notice: While we welcome our articles being shared, we request that links to this website are provided rather than other approaches. Thank you (NI Ferry Site team).

Exit mobile version