Hull ferries switch flags to Bermuda

P&O Ferries said that altering the status of the Pride of Hull and the Pride of York, which are currently under UK flags, would allow it to maintain their current crewing arrangements, which may have been affected by aspects of the Equality Act regarding the terms and conditions of agency workers.

Two other ferries operating from the port, the Pride of Rotterdam and the Pride of Bruges, are registered in the Netherlands and would not be affected.

A spokeswoman said: “It will keep things as they are and maintain the status quo; it doesn’t affect any of our staff and it won’t affect passengers.

“It provides us with the predictability of knowing what the economics are on those services.

“If the legislation does come in it’s not going to affect what we are doing.”

The company, which has 23 ships in its fleet, said it was hoping to break even on its North Sea routes this year – between Hull, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge – after they suffered losses in recent years.