Former Hull to Zeebrugge ferries for sale after route closes

The Pride of York is being offered for sale alongside its sister ship the Pride of Bruges

Two North Sea ferries have been put up for sale just weeks after the route they sailed on was closed.

The Pride of Bruges and the Pride of York sailed nightly between Hull and Zeebrugge in Belgium until P&O Ferries ended the service in January due to a drop in demand.

The ships, which can carry more than 1,000 passengers and 850 cars, are listed on a German shipbrokers website.

Hull Labour MP Karl Turner said it was "an incredibly sad day for this city".

"It is not just a part of our past potentially being flogged for scrap, but a part of our future too," said Mr Turner.

"I am extremely disappointed that P&O Ferries have shown their lack of commitment to Hull by choosing not to retain these huge assets, but the Government must bear some responsibility too - there has been a complete lack of action, allowing P&O to take millions of taxpayer's money whilst removing a critical piece of our national and local infrastructure."

The Department for Transport said that the operation of ferry routes is a commercial matter for the relevant companies concerned, and that throughout the pandemic the government had invested millions to protect critical passenger and cargo ferry routes.

No price is listed on the Global Ferry and Cruise Shipbrokers. The pair of ships were built in 1987 and at 588ft (179m) long were amongst the biggest ferries used in UK waters.

The route between Hull and Belgium had been running since the 1960s, but was described as loss-making by P&O and saw its last crossing on 1 January.

The BBC has contacted P&O Ferries for a response.