P&O Ferries has paid the £94m it owed to the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF) in full, following negotiations between the scheme’s trustees and DP World.

Seafarers’ union RMT said the payment represented a significant victory for members of the scheme, with the funds now invested alongside the MNRPF’s other assets.

The settlement also means charges previously held over P&O Ferries’ vessels as security against any default on its pension obligations have been removed.

RMT noted it had campaigned for P&O Ferries to meet its obligations to the MNRPF alongside its wider campaign for the 786 seafarers who were dismissed by the company.

RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, commented: “While this is good news for MNRPF members, it is also good news for other MNRPF participating employers who would have been left with P&O Ferries’ debt had it gone into administration.

“RMT would like to congratulate the MNRPF Trustees on successfully negotiating this payment, but we would like to make it clear that the campaign for justice for the 786 seafarers ruthlessly sacked by P&O Ferries continues.”

The union added that the repayment had removed the risk that other participating employers in the MNRPF could have been left to cover P&O Ferries’ share of the liabilities if the company had entered administration.

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