Hopes to have Manxman sailing again

Repairs and sea trials to take place tonight

It's hoped Manxman could be put back into service tomorrow (21 August) - as long as repairs go to plan tonight.

The Steam Packet Company has provided an update as it attempts to return to normal service following 'various operational challenges' over the past 36 hours.

The ferry operator's flagship vessel was side-lined following an 'electrical component failure' in the early hours of Tuesday morning. It emitted smoke in an engineering space and triggered emergency procedures.

Meanwhile, Ben-my-Chree was brought in to cover the Heysham sailings, but also faced delays after the vessel's firefighting equipment was accidentally damaged during freight loading operations at Heysham in the early hours of this morning.

Following repairs, the Ben's delayed 9:45am departure arrived in Heysham just before 5pm. Its return sailing is due to arrive in Douglas tonight at around 11:30pm.

MANXMAN REPAIRS UPDATE

In an update this evening, the Steam Packet says the spare parts to replace the failed components on Manxman have now arrived on the Island via a specially chartered courier service. 

The service engineer has also arrived on the vessel in order to complete the repairs.

The ferry operator says, provided these repairs progress as expected, Manxman is scheduled to undertake a short series of sea trials this evening, ahead of Ben-my-Chree’s return to Douglas.
 
If the sea trials go to plan, Manxman will resume service with Thursday’s 8:30am departure to Heysham.

Ben-my-Chree will then resume a freight-only service to and from Heysham, in support of Manxman during the busy Grand Prix and Classic TT period.

MANANNAN
 
Meanwhile, Manannan’s services to Dublin and Liverpool today have also been impacted by the delays that originated with the accidental damage to Ben-my-Chree.

However, the fast craft is expected to resume its normal schedule from the 7:30am departure to Liverpool tomorrow.
 
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company says it would like to extend its thanks to the travelling public for their patience and understanding as it responds to a 'challenging set of circumstances'.

Passengers affected by any of the ongoing disruptions can find more information about their rights, compensation and feedback processes HERE.