The Irish Ferries vessel with nearly 800 passengers on board, which was prevented from docking at Roscoff in France earlier today, has now berthed, the company has said.
Tony Kelly, Irish Ferries marketing director, said a court order had been secured to allow the ferry to birth at the port of Roscoff.
"The protest in effect is ending allowing us to berth at Roscoff and allowing our passengers to disembark," he confirmed.
Protesters gathered this morning and it was reported some had set palettes alight on the dockside. They are protesting at Irish Ferries' decision to outsource labour on the ship and at what they say are poor pay and conditions for seafarers.
Dozens of French police arrived at the port after the ferry was stopped around 20 yards from the dock.
The ship will reload and will bring passengers from France to Rosslare tonight. It is expected the boat will arrive about four hours behind schedule early tomorrow morning.
Siptu this evening said Irish Ferries should "stop exploiting workers" aboard the MV Normandy and meet the union to agree proper rates of pay and conditions for seafarers employed aboard the vessel.
Siptu branch secretary Paul Smyth said: "We were shocked by the statement by Alfie McGrath on behalf of Irish Ferries in the Sunday Tribune on May 29 2005 to the effect that "If you hire a Pole then you pay Polish rates". We believe this comment to be both racist and offensive and runs contrary to Irish Ferries’ commitment to social partnership," he said.
"SIPTU also calls on the Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment to examine the practice recently introduced by Irish Ferries of using the statutory redundancy scheme to fund the exit of Irish seafarers whose jobs are immediately filled by low cost agency crews."
Labour's marine spokesman Tommy Broughan said today's scenes at Roscoff were "regrettable" and he expressed sympathy for the passengers stranded and delayed.
He added, however: "Employment on Irish Ferries with such downgraded and derogatory pay and working conditions cannot be allowed to be expanded to other vessels and become the normal standard of employment within the maritime sector."
French protesters, who are understood to be members of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), were joined today by union representatives from Britain and Ireland.
The ITF claimed the MV Normandyarrived at the entrance to the port and had then turned away.
In a statement, Irish Ferries said it regretted the protest action at Roscoff today, which is one of a number of recent protests by workers who object to the company’s policy of outsourcing work at what they say are low rates of pay.
The company said: "The persons involved in this protest are not employed by Irish Ferries nor are they known to the company in any fashion, other than that they are believed to include employees of other French ferry companies.
"The company is making all efforts open to it to discharge its passengers at Roscoff with the minimum of delay."
The MV Normandyhas been the subject of particular controversy as all staff on the ship are now outsourced through an agency. Siptu has claimed it now finds it difficult to obtain information about workers' rates of pay and conditions as it no longer has members on board the vessel.
However, the Irish Ferries spokesman said this evening the company had an obligation to remain competitive and had been able to bring down its fares as a result of recent events.
It was fully complying with recommendations made in the Labour Court, he said.
The spokesman said Irish Ferries would take measures to protect its loss of trade
"We are paying, via the onboard management of the business, the international rates that apply.
We are not trying to underpay in any sense," the spokesman said, when questioned about workers' pay and conditions.
Siptu recently helped secure a settlement for a Filipina woman earlier this year when it emerged she had a contract to work as a beautician on another Irish Ferries vessel at rates as low as €1 per hour.
She subsequently returned to the Philippines.