A row over a payment request worth hundreds of thousands of pounds left a ferry shipping crucial supplies between Ireland and the UK stranded.
The P&O Ferries vessel was moored at the Port of Liverpool last night and told it could not leave due to a dispute over a request for £600,000.
The ship arrived in Seaforth on Thursday morning equipped with medicine and cargo including food, as part of a trip made every day to help combat the coronavirus crisis, the Liverpool Echo reports.
However not long after getting to Merseyside, a disagreement broke out with Peel Ports, which owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool at Seaforth, asking for an unpaid sum of money.
P&O said a request was made for nearly £600,000 and then accused Peel of preventing them from sailing without the bill being settled.
The shipping company believe the amount they owe is substantially less for use of the port facilities - about two-thirds that figure.
And P&O claimed they'd been in ongoing discussion with The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company about the fees that were outstanding.
The firm said they had asked for flexibility to pay the money, due to the coronavirus financial meltdown, and have always remained committed to pay in full.
Their statement also added their point of contact at Mersey Docks and Harbour Company had been furloughed, without their knowledge, meaning communications had suddenly broken down.
On Thursday afternoon, the Norbay remained stuck at Peel Ports with no sign of a resolution near.
The company believes Peel Ports' stance will affect the flow of key supplies going to Ireland but also to the north of England, including Merseyside.
A spokesman said: "We have been in open discussions since this crisis began with all of our ports and network to ensure that we can manage payments while everyone deals with this unprecedented situation.
“We had asked for flexibility in the time required to pay but the Liverpool port refused to respond, even though we were committing to full payment.
"Then we learned that our point of contact had been furloughed and they didn’t tell us."
Peel Ports said some of P&O's claims were "factually inaccurate."
It described their detention of the Norbay as a "last-resort" and urged the ferry company to make use of the government's recent financial interventions to help pay their bill.
Other operators between Liverpool and Ireland were operating without similar problems, they added.
A Peel Ports spokeswoman said: "The Port of Liverpool plays a vital role in many critical supply chains from all over the world, handling products needed in the medical & healthcare sector, food industry and energy generation.
“Customers who refuse to pay their bills put these other supply chains at risk.
"Any decision to detain a vessel is always taken as a last-resort and only when there is a significant debt to repay.
“While we understand that we are in unprecedented times, the UK government has announced multiple financial interventions that will support companies with short-term funding issues as a result of Covid-19.
"These should be used as opposed to passing the cash-flow risk along the supply chain.
“Other ferry services from Liverpool to both Dublin and Belfast continue to operate, with multiple departures per day and spare capacity.”
