Displaying items by tag: Normal service

21st April 2022

More Ferries from P&O's Irish Sea Fleet Inspected as Firm Bids to Resume Normal Operations

The two Irish Sea ships under inspection, European Highlander which normally operates Larne-Cairnryan while Norbay (above) serves the Dublin-Liverpool route.

A further two ships of the P&O Ferries fleet are being inspected as the company attempts to resume normal operations after sacking nearly 800 workers.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it began assessing European Highlander on Thursday and Norbay yesterday.

P&O Ferries suspended most of its sailings after replacing 786 seafarers with cheaper agency staff on March 17.

European Highlander normally operates between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland, while Norbay serves the Dublin-Liverpool route.

A total of eight P&O Ferries vessels will be examined by the MCA through the Port State Control regime.

RTE News has more on the Irish Sea route ferries in addition to the rest of the fleet, some still detained from UK-mainland Europe services.

As Afloat reported earlier, the North Channel route's second ship, European Causeway following an MCA inspection resumed service last week.

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RC35 Class

The concept of the RC35 Class is to bring together similar boats within a close handicap banding and to work with owners and crews to develop the best racing experience possible on the Clyde and the Irish Sea area. The Class is within a tight rating band (IRC 1.015-1.040) yacht racing will be in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Q: What is the RC35 ‘Rule’?
A: Qualifying yachts for the RC35 Class will sit within an IRC Banding of 1.015 to 1.040. In 2017 it is proposed that a tolerance of +/- 0.05pts will be permitted

Q: Are there any other criteria?
A: RC35 takes the most prevalent IRC racing boats on the Clyde and groups them within a fixed rating band. Qualifying boats will have an LOA 32ft—38ft and displacement of between 3,000kg—9,000kg. The rule also requires boats conform to ISAF Cat.4 be anti-fouled and not dry sailed. A limit of sail purchases (2 per year) also applies.

Q: What is the RC35 Championship?
A: The RC35 Championship will cover 8 events (6 to count) and include events such as Scottish Series, Dun Laoghaire/Bangor and an RC35 Championship weekend. Each year the Class will make a commitment to one ‘away’ regatta as part of the Championship.