Ferry service contract 'should have more input'

The government-owned ferry firm is run at arms-length by a board of directors

The service contract between the government and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company should not be the sole responsibility of the infrastructure department, the minister has said.

Giving evidence to a Tynwald committee set up to review the Sea Services Agreement (SSA), Tim Crookall MHK said the treasury, enterprise and environment departments should also be involved.

Giving evidence alongside the minister, infrastructure chief officer Emily Curphey told the panel, following the government purchase of the ferry firm, the document needed to be simplified.

But she said "some level of agreement" should be retained to "give protection to the island".

Knowledge

Ms Curphey told the committee she believed the document should be clearer for the department, the Steam Packet and the public to understand.

Her thoughts, echoed comments made by Treasury Minister Alex Allinson in March, when he told the committee the agreement was an "incredibly complicated textbook about how a government department interacts with a private company".

The SSA, which was drawn up in 2020 and is due for its five-yearly review in January next year, includes conditions on fares, routes and the frequency of sailings.

Mr Crookall told the committee there was "a lot of knowledge that's on offer to the Steam Packet to use" from the business and the Visit Isle of Man agency side of the enterprise department.

He also said the environment department had a role to play in any new agreement to help consider the carbon emissions of the fleet of four vessels.

As the government-owned ferry firm has the Treasury as its only the shareholder, it too should be involved in any potential cross-departmental agreement, the infrastructure minister said.

He told the panel he wanted to see the service "enhanced, if possible, where possible" and to see departments working together to make sure the firm offered "what's best for the island in terms of a good, reliable service".

The committee has also previously heard evidence from representatives of the ferry firm and the enterprise department.

A session with the Department of Food, Environment and Agriculture is scheduled for June.