Dover to Calais ferry services have been disrupted continuously

The company said berthing restrictions at Calais caused it to lose about 20% of Dover-Calais sailings in the first three months of 2005.

But it added that restructuring in its ferries division was on course, with a final 120 Dover job losses when another ship is taken out of service next week.

It is estimated the lost sailings in 2005 will cost more than �5m.

The problems at Calais began on 8 February when a ramp overturned as a lorry was disembarking, damaging a berth.

The company said: "We are now operating close to a full service and the situation should be completely resolved within the next month."

'Positive trading'

P&O said total passenger numbers on its ferries dropped to 1.5 million in the first quarter from nearly 1.9 million for the same period in 2004.

The losses of more than �5m this year could be offset by cost savings from restructuring, which aims to achieve job cuts of 1,200 across P&O Ferries as a whole.

These were implemented in response to duty-free changes and the growth of low-cost airlines, which created adverse trading conditions.