Saturday sailings cancelled

Vessels face separate issues

Passengers are facing a day of disruption on ferry services.

Both of the Steam Packet's morning sailings to Liverpool (7.30am) and Heysham (8.45am) have been cancelled.

This also means services back from Liverpool (11.15am) and Heysham (2.15pm) to Douglas will not go ahead.

The operator has blamed a 'rapid deterioration' in the weather for the cancellation of Manannan crossings - with gales forecast in the Island later and strong winds and thunderstorms on Merseyside.

The cancellation of the Ben-my-Chree service, however, is blamed on a 'technical problem' it suffered while berthing in Douglas early this morning.

Engineers are currently repairing the vessel.

At present, Manannan crossings scheduled for later in the day (3pm/7.15pm) remain unaffected.