A total of eight P&O ferries were detained by the MCA after P&O Ferries made the shock announcement it was axing almost 800 staff in March this year, as part of plans to replace their UK workforce with overseas agency workers earning an average of £5.50 per hour, which is less than the UK minimum wage. P&O's strategy, which was roundly condemned by government and the unons at the time, raised safety concerns, triggering the inspections by the MCA. International hauliers also hit out at P&O Ferries as they struggled to find alternative freight routes as the cross Channel ferry service was suspended. P&O Ferries has accused the MCA of carrying out inspections with "an unprecedented level of rigour". However the agency has insisted it worked "in exactly the same robust way" for every ship. Read more So far the Pride of Hull (Hull-Rotterdam), Norway (Liverpool-Dublin), European Causeway and European Highlander (Cairnryan-Larne) have all been cleared to sail as well as the two Dover-based vessels.