On 12 December 2017, the vessel made her way to Dunkirk for an emergency dry docking for repairs for a damaged shaft seal and gearbox.

In early 2019, the Pride of Kent, like all P&O vessels on the Dover-to-Calais route, had been flagged out to Cyprus, a measure explained by the company as motivated by tax advantages in view of Brexit.

On 21 March 2022 Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that he would require P&O Ferries to rename Pride of Kent and other ships on P&O the fleet which carry British names if the company was found to have breached employment regulations following the summary dismissal without notice via Zoom of 800 British seafarers which were to be replaced with cheaper overseas agency workers.

[1] On 24 March 2022, P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite confirmed that the management of the company illegally fired 800 British seafarers so it was expected that this ship would have its name changed as Shapps announced three days previously.

The ship was both divided vertically (as decks) and horizontally, into 3 ventilation zones, with stairs assigned the colours red, yellow, orange, green and blue.

The fourth 'European Class' freight ferry was converted to a multi-purpose vessel for the Dover-Calais route and named MS Pride of Burgundy, though she still retained a number of similarities.