Stranded ferry passengers 'comfortable' on board

Passengers on a ferry forced aground by hurricane-force winds today remained stranded on board their stricken vessel.

Ferry company P&O had hoped to refloat the European Highlander last night but shelved that plan when it could not get a tug to the scene in time.

The 100 people on board the stranded vessel are now unlikely to get off until noon – a full 30 hours after they should have safely arrived at the south west Scotland ferry port of Cairnryan.

The vessel, with 43 passengers and 57 crew, became a casualty of the atrocious weather which battered much of Britain.

Winds of up to 100 knots pushed the vessel on to a stretch of shingle beach only 100 yards from her intended berth.

Although the shoreline was tantalisingly close it was deemed safer for people to remain on board until the vessel could refloat at high tide and then be helped to her berth by a tug.

But problems of availability, combined with the weather, meant a tug could not get there until today.

A P&O Irish Sea spokeswoman said that of the 43 passengers aboard, 23 were truck drivers and the others were car drivers and passengers.

Today’s Scottish Cup tie between rival Glasgow football clubs Rangers and Celtic would normally attract a big visiting contingent from both sides of the Irish border, but the spokeswoman said she was not aware of any fans among the stranded passengers.

“One of the passengers described conditions as very pleasant,” she said.

“It is a new ship, built in 2002, and facilities on board are very comfortable.

“They are being offered food and refreshments and that will continue until all the passengers get off tomorrow.

“They will be given bedding and blankets for the overnight stay, they have been well looked after, and they have accepted that unfortunately there’s little else we can do.

“We have had no complaints so far.”

Lorry driver Philip Wilson, a passenger on the stranded ferry, said everyone was calm on board.

The 29-year-old told the Sunday Mail: “They’ve fed and watered us for free so that’s not been too bad.

“But they have kept it quiet that we might be here all night.

“It’s mostly truck drivers on board, but there are a few Scots and a couple of young children here too.

“There is no danger or panic, but it’s a pain being stuck here so long.”

The sailed from Larne in Northern Ireland at 4.15am yesterday for what should have been a routine two-hour crossing to Cairnryan.

Once it became stranded on the shoreline, it was deemed safer to keep the passengers on board than to take them off by helicopter or other means.

P&O had first hoped to get a tug to the scene in time for last night’s high tide at 10pm, so that the vessel could then refloat and be guided into its berth.

But it said later it could not get a tug there, and a tug would instead leave the port of Greenock in Renfrewshire at midnight, arriving at Cairnryan around 8am in readiness for the tide.

The stranded vessel was so close to land that Dumfries and Galloway fire brigade brought along a hydraulic lift in the hope that it might be long enough to take off passengers.

At its stern end the vessel is barely five yards from shore.

The hurricane-force winds abated during the day, but by lunchtime there were still winds of 30 knots.

The vessel remained firmly aground,however, and showed no signs of tipping.