Hull MP Karl Turner tweeted a copy of an internal statement circulated to staff on Thursday morning (17 March), adding: "This is troubling for crews and their families. I am in contact with ratings and officer unions regarding this."

Publicly, P&O Ferries tweeted: "Regretfully, P&O Ferries services are unable to run for the next few hours. Our port teams will guide you and travel will be arranged via an alternative operator. We apologise for the inconvenience this will have on your journey plans."

In a string of follow-ups, the line directed people hoping to travel between Dover and Calais on Thursday to alternative operators, including DFDS.

TTG has approached P&O Ferries for more information.

The firm’s statement, as tweeted by Turner, read: “We will be making a major company announcement today which, with the support of our shareholder DP World, will secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries. To facilitate this announcement all our vessels have been asked to discharge their passengers and cargo and standby for further instructions.

"That means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today so please bear with us and we will give further information in an all-colleague announcement later today. If you’re in a customer-facing role further information with follow separately on how we would like you to work with our customers. Thank you for your patience and support.”