The UK Marine and Coastguard Agency say that any of the four issues would have been enough to justify the detention of the £50 million ferry, and they have also revealed that there were another seven defects in the vessel.
Those defects include incorrect stowing of firefighting equipment, a missing public address system, an invalid labour certificate and a lack of training on fire drills.
The statement from the MCA, released late yesterday, doesn’t match the public response from Condor yesterday morning – the ferry company, which has been at the heart of public controversy over delays and cancellations for months, said that an inspection coincided with work on propulsion and steering systems, and that there were issues with the PA system.
The MCA say that they are awaiting confirmation from the vessel’s flag state – the Bahamas – that everything is up to scratch before they undertake their own assessment.
A statement from the MCA said: ““The MCA is currently awaiting confirmation directly from the flag state that they are content that all deficiencies have been rectified before agreeing to our attendance.
“We understand that the flag state’s inspectors were on board yesterday.
“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.”
In a statement this morning, Condor say that they have been as open as they can be – but they say that they cannot comment in detail before the final inspection is concluded.
They said: “We want to reassure our customers that we only ever sail any of our ships when we and our regulators are satisfied that they are safe. Inspections are part of ensuring that safety and we welcome them.
“As is normal, the MCA made a number of observations during its inspection regarding ship equipment and procedures.
“As always, these will help the company achieve the highest standards of safety. For example, fire drills are regularly carried out as part of normal operations and regular inspections, and the MCA made some helpful observations – which did not form part of the Detention Notice – regarding the routine fire drills carried out during their inspection.”
The anger at Condor’s levels of service in the year since the Liberation was first put into action has led to ministers demanding action – the ferry company has committed to meeting ministers on a monthly basis, and to doing a better job of communicating and dealing with customers.