FREIGHT services and sailings between Tilbury and Zeebrugge operated by P&O Ferries appear to be unaffected by today's news from the company that it is cutting 800 jobs on its UK services.

That prompted the cancellation of many passenger sailing around the country, including at the Port of Dover where cross channel ferries operated by P&O remain docked at the port and in France.

The company says it has made the job cuts and plans to change the structure of its operations because of substantial losses related largely to its car and passenger services.

Freight services like that operated from Thurrock's new Tilbury2 port to Belgium appear likely to continue and an information page operated by the company, owned by DP World, shows many freight services are running as normal.

P&O runs 24 crossings a week of the roll-on, roll-off freight-only route between Tilbury and Zeebrugge six days a week. They operate sister ships, the Norsky and Norstream on the eight hour crossing.

Currently it says all its sailings to and from Tilbury are 'operating to schedule'.

Announcing the dismissal of 800 staff today P&O said: "In making this tough decision, we are securing the future viability of our business which employs an additional 2,200 people and supports billions in trade in and out of the UK.

"And we are ensuring that we can continue serving our customers in a way that they have demanded from us for many years."

It is reported that P&O have foreign-based crew at ports ready to board ships but they cannot do so at the moment as many existing staff are refusing to leave and some have blockaded their ships in port.