A truck driver is said to have tried to ram a blockade by activists in a Scottish port protesting against scandal-ridden P&O Ferries.
Witnesses told how the driver of a 7.5-ton vehicle forced the protesters to withdraw while trying to break into the ferry port of Kernrian.
The man is said to have shouted at activists as his truck tried to break their line at the port entrance during the incident, which occurred at around 2.55pm on Friday.
Officials have since confirmed that a 61-year-old man has been charged with traffic violations.
Protesters carrying flags in the Scottish port (Image: Jim Ryder) Read more Related articles Read more related articles
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A witness said: “The protesters arrived at 2 pm in two buses. They blocked everyone from entering, standing like a wall of people in front of the entrance.
“A truck driver tried to make his way. He rushed to them to try to break the line. He shouted at the protesters, who had to withdraw. Eventually he stopped and one of the RMT boys went to talk to him.
“The police came and the driver was taken away.”
About 70 protesters had gathered to block traffic on P&O’s Cairnryan ferry to Larne.
The service, departing from Dumfries and Galloway Harbor to Northern Ireland, was scheduled to depart at 4 p.m.
Union leaders hailed the blockade as a success with the half-empty ferry.
The demonstration was organized by the RMT union as a result of the change of P&O of nearly 800 workers with cheaper staff of the agency.
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Mass layoffs have sparked discontent among unions, politicians and the general public.
Prior to the blockade, RMT said it “cannot allow the layoffs to remain undisputed” and asked passengers not to travel by ferry.
Demonstrations also took place in Larne on Friday on the other side of the two-hour checkpoint.
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At 2.30pm, RMT Scotland tweeted: “RMT and union activists are blocking the entrance to Cairnryan Harbor to protest against P&O ferries.
“It’s time for P&O to face the consequences of firing 800 British sailors.
“Nothing inside. Nothing outside.”
European Causeway docks in Larne after the ship lost power on Tuesday. Read more related articles
The union later said the blockade had had a “huge impact” and that P&O Ferries’ infamous ship was sailing half empty.
Speaking during the blockade, RMT regional organizer Gordon Martin said it was a protest against “bandit capitalists” at P&O. He promised protesters would return to place additional blockades “on an ongoing basis”.
On Tuesday, a ferry P&O lost electricity in the Irish Sea on its way from Cairnryan to Larne. Lifeboats and tugs were launched from Larne and Belfast to direct the European Causeway to port.
The drama came just two days after P&O resumed two ferries on the route for the first time since announcing job cuts in March.
A police spokesman in Scotland said: “Police were notified of a demonstration in Kernryan at around 2pm on Friday, April 29, 2022.
“During the protest against a 61-year-old man, charges were brought for traffic violations.
“A report has been submitted to the fiscal prosecutor’s office.”
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