UPDATE: Condor Liberation due to sail on Saturday

The ferry had been under a detention order issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency after a routine inspection revealed 'substantial deficiencies'. 

According to the MCA's report, they found 11 deficiencies, leaving the ship unsafe for passengers, including four which were grounds for the ship's detention. These comprised of the steering gear not working, the main engine operation and fire doors not working as required and the International Safety Management Code not being put in place. Other findings included a lack of training for staff on fire drills and the public address system was missing.

In a statement, Condor said: "All of the matters highlighted in Tuesday’s MCA inspection have now been rectified and Condor Liberation is currently undergoing re-inspection by the Flag State and Classification Society. 

"The MCA will re-inspect the ship tomorrow. Subject to that re-inspection being completed satisfactorily, Condor Liberation will return to service on Saturday."

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said: "The MCA is currently awaiting confirmation directly from the flag state (Bahamas) that they are content that all deficiencies have been rectified before agreeing to our attendance. We understand that the flag state’s inspectors are on board today.

"MCA inspectors will carry out independent assessment to confirm that the deficiencies have been rectified.  Release of the ship will be made only when MCA’s inspectors are satisfied with the actions undertaken by the company."

Condor Ferries said that they have developed the following plan for Friday and Saturday, which will mean that freight services are un-affected. They said that this will allow around 70-per-cent of their passengers to travel on their expected day, although many will be on a different ship and potentially at a different time. However, they aim to get all passengers travelling within 24 hours of their original booking. Sunday’s services are expected to operate as normal. 

Friday passengers' update

• Freight services will be unaffected. Charter ship MV Arrow will take over Clipper’s schedule from Friday afternoon.
• Passengers who were booked to travel southbound from Jersey to St Malo on Friday will be offered travel on a later sailing which will be operated by Commodore Clipper.
• Passengers who were booked to travel northbound from France to the Channel Islands on Friday night, will be offered a full refund or travel on the next available sailing (which will be Saturday morning)
• Passengers travelling southbound from the UK to the Channel Islands on Friday, will travel via Commodore Clipper
• Passengers booked to travel northbound from the Channel Islands to the UK on Friday will be contacted and offered the choice of a full refund or travel on the next available sailing (which will be on Saturday night via Commodore Clipper)

Saturday passengers' update

• Passengers who were booked to travel between the Channel Islands and France on Saturday will be offered travel on one of the new sailings as outlined below
• All passengers travelling southbound from the UK to the Channel Islands on Saturday will travel via Condor Liberation (subject to her planned return to service) – this includes passengers who were booked to travel on Commodore Clipper
• Passengers booked to travel northbound from the Channel Islands to the UK on Saturday night will be unaffected

Our original story is below.

The Condor Liberation has been detained in Poole after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency found 'substantial deficiencies'. 

The MCA and Affairs Maritimes conducted a routine inspection on Tuesday while engineers were working on faults.

As a result they issued a detention order, which prevents the ship from sailing until the repairs have been completed and approved.

In a statement, Condor Ferries said: "Condor's engineers have been working on non-sailing days to rectify the faults on Condor Liberation which have affected recent sailings.

"This includes work on the propulsion and steering systems.

"The MCA and Affairs Maritimes conducted a joint, routine inspection on March 15 whilst this repair work was underway and as a result have issued a detention order.

"Until the issues identified are resolved and the repairs are complete the ship is unable to sail."

In an update at 2pm, the company added: "A routine annual inspection of Condor Liberation by the MCA and Affaires Maritimes coincided with planned repair and maintenance to the propulsion and steering systems on a non-sailing day.

"Consequently, the MCA found that until these systems were back in working order, the ship would be subject to a Detention Order.

"As is usual, a number of other matters were identified during the inspection, all of which will also be rectified before the ship returns to service.

"Once the repairs are complete, as a result of the Order, the ship will undergo re-inspection by the MCA (and all our port states), our classification body (DNV-GL) and our flag state (the Bahamas).

"Regrettably, the need for re-inspection following the successful completion of the repairs and maintenance means that our operating schedule will be disrupted for at least part of this weekend.

"Liberation is expected to return to service in a matter of days; the exact return to service date is expected to be confirmed tomorrow.

"We have enacted the contingency as published on our website which says that, when one high speed ferry is in dry dock and the other is unexpectedly out of service, we will:

• Reschedule our conventional ferries to provide alternative sailings
• Bring in a charter ship to support freight services
• Reschedule additional sailings of Liberation once she is back in service

"We are today cancelling Liberation’s sailing from Jersey to St Malo for Thursday 17 March. This is the only service she was scheduled to operate tomorrow.

"We will provide a further update for weekend travel no later than 12 noon on Thursday 17 March."

In a statement the MCA said: "Following a joint EU inspection by the Southampton Marine Office and French Affaires Maritime Port State control colleagues, the Condor Liberation has been detained after substantial deficiencies were observed by MCA inspectors.’

"Following formal detention, the flag state and their recognised organisation are responsible for primary oversight and rectification of deficiencies.

"Once they are content, they will invite the Port State (MCA) to reattend to verify the same."

Daily Echo understands that a detention order is made by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency when a ship has a substantial issue, which the MCA deems as making the vessel unsafe or potentially dangerous for passengers to travel on it. This could include issues with the engine or the hull.

Condor Liberation carries a flag of convenience for the Bahamas, which is a business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from the ship’s owners.

This means that the Bahamian government are responsible for overseeing the repair work carried out on the ship, before it can be checked over by the MCA.

The Liberation has been struggling with steering difficulties since February. It was out of action for three days at the end of February.

At that time the company said: "Following the technical problems which affected the Condor Liberation... our engineers sourced the parts needed to make a permanent repair to the steering modules."

Poole Harbour Commissioners said: "PHC are aware of the detention and are liaising with the ferry company and the MCA regarding this issue until the detention is removed."

The ferry, which was built in 2010, was put into dry dock from January to mid-February after it was damaged. It was also out of service for three days at the end of February for work to repair the steering.