DETENTION OF PASSENGER SHIP IN PORTSMOUTH

May 10, 2010

Maritime and Coastguard Surveyors have detained the passenger vessel Prince Albert II in Portsmouth this afternoon. The vessel is a Bahamas registered passenger ship, operated by V.Ships Leisure (Monaco) in Portsmouth.

Richard Pellew, Area Operations Manager, Survey and Inspections, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said:

The safety aspect of the ship and those who are on board is always our primary concern. The inspection of the Prince Albert II has raised two areas of concern overloading and the recording of hours of rest for senior officers. The MCA has a zero tolerance on crew fatigue, it is of grave concern that senior officers on board are seemingly not getting sufficient rest.

We understand that the ship was intending on sailing at 8pm this evening, the ship will be detained until we are confident they have met the measures put in place to rectify these problems.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency Press Office