European-Highlander

A person went overboard from the 'European Highlander' in the Irish Sea on the afternoon of Feb 12, 2026, at 1 21 p.m., whilst the ferry was enroute from Cairnryan to Larne. The Larne and Portmuck Coastguard Rescue Teams and RNLI lifeboats from Larne and Donaghadee wer emobilized, as well as an HM Coastguard rescue helicopter. The RNLI launched its all-weather lifeboat from Larne at 1:25 p.m. The Donaghadee RNLI was later requested to join the search, and the crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 2.45 p.m. Both P&O vessels on the route, the 'European Causeway' and the 'European Highlander', the lifeboats '14-30' and 'RNLI 14-21' and other vessels such as the 'Farra Emer' and 'Ocean Voyager II', in the area started searching for the missing in the North Channel near Stranraer. The exhaustive and thorough search was suspended without finding the person.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) began assessing the 'European Highlander' in Larne on April 21. She normally operates between Larne and Cairnryan. The surveyors were carrying out a full inspection of the P&O ferry, before it returns to service to make sure it complies with international regulations on manning and safe operation, in particular emergency procedures such as firefighting and evacuating the ship.

On March 17, 2022, P&O ordered all its ships back into port to sack the 800 crewmembes and replace them by cheap agency workers. At the present time the P&O fleet are located as follows, out of service. Pride of Kent / Canterbury = Dover Spirit of Britain = Dover Spirit of France = Schiedam (refit) Pride of Hull = Hull Pride of Rotterdam = Rotterdam European Highlander = Cairnryan European Causeway = Larne Norbay = Liverpool Norbank = Liverpool It is unclear at this point if Dutch vessels are affected by the crew changes. Replacement crew are on hand at Dover, Cairnryan and Larne.

The "European Highlander" returned to Larne on June 26, 2019, after a six week absence at Cammel Yard in Larid for refit. The ferry had only been scheduled to got the the Wirral Yard for three weeks, but problems discovered during dry docking meant she needed more work.