Ferry passengers to Cherbourg irate over delay

The mood among passengers aboard the Irish Ferries ship MV Normandy was irate after their day-long ordeal off the French coast yesterday.

As supplies of food, nappies and bottled water ran out, passengers said there appeared to be confusion between the largely non-English speaking deck-hands and the mainly British officers on board.

While passengers were given a free meal and tea and coffee in the ship's restaurants, some reported they were not allowed to buy food in the ship's shops.

Passengers also accused Irish Ferries management of only allowing them to get supplies from their own cars on the vehicle decks after one passenger insisted on ringing RTÉ Radio 1's programme Liveline.

A total of 793 passengers, 248 cars, four articulated freight lorries and two vans were on board the ship on its usual Sunday afternoon voyage from Rosslare in Co Wexford to the northern French port of Cherbourg. Among them were 54 members of the Irish Naval Service and their partners.

Making his second family trip to France - and he insisted his last with Irish Ferries - Mr Michael Ryan of Ballyboughal, north Dublin said he left home with his wife and two children, aged 10 months and three years, at 10am on Sunday.

"We were expecting to get off in about half an hour at 10.30am when they said we weren't going to dock. I asked could I go to the car deck to get baby formula and nappies but the crew said no. It was only hours later when one sympathetic woman told the officers that I was going to ring Liveline, that they relented and we were all allowed to go to our cars".

As the ship finally docked just before 8pm local time, passengers were preparing to find a hotel for the night before resuming their holiday this morning.