P&O failed the first inspection of a passenger carrying ferry on Friday. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, part of the Department for Transport, impounded a ferry in Northern Ireland, “due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training”.

Swedish operator Stena predominantly runs services across the Irish Sea rather than the English Channel. It has already laid on extra sailings between Britain and Ireland. A spokesman said it had no plans to operate out of Dover.

It is thought that Mr Shapps and the operators will also discuss the longer term implications of the Government’s plans to impose a minimum wage on seafarers. Given previous comments by P&O that it is not viable unless it cuts staffing costs, its Dubai owners could instead choose to fold the business.

DFDS and Stena Line declined to comment on the talks. 

City stockbrokers warned that if a crackdown is imposed, P&O would have little option but to “retrench”

John Musk, a Royal Bank of Canada analyst, said: “Either P&O Ferries remain on the Channel with a lower cost base but a damaged consumer brand, or retrench.”

Irish Ferries could also be hit hard. It moved its vessels to the Cypriot register in 2006 and has since faced protests from trade unions over claims it is failing to pay the minimum wage.

Labour MP for Hull East, Karl Turner, said: “If P&O don’t reverse this illegal decision, there is absolutely going to be chaos.”  

A spokesman for the Prime Minister and Mr Shapps both called for Mr Hebblethwaite to quit following his appearance in front of a House of Commons committee on Thursday.

Labour this weekend called on Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, to strip Mr Hebblethwaite of his right to be a company director.

A spokesman for the Government said: “The Business Secretary has already written to the Insolvency Service asking them to urgently undertake a thorough enquiry into the actions of P&O Ferries.

“This will include any scope to take legal action against the company’s directors. We will not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of wrongdoing.”

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “Ministers are working to understand how we can ensure the continuation of services in collaboration with other operators, including DFDS and Stena.” 

“We are clear that Government does not support the actions taken by P&O Ferries [or] DP World and we are therefore looking to ensure that we may take forward strong working relationships with employers that we consider to behave in a more acceptable manner towards their employees.”