Manannan sailings scrapped due to generator fault

Sailings have been cancelled due to a control fault in the generator of the Manannan

All of Thursday's sailings of the Isle of Man's fast craft have been scrapped following a technical fault with its generators.

The 07:15 Manannan sailing had set off for Liverpool but a control fault to one of the generators meant that it was deemed "not safe" to enter the port, the ferry operator said.

As there was also a risk the vessel would not be allowed to depart Liverpool if it was not rectified, it returned to Douglas, the firm confirmed.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said "despite the best efforts" of engineers and workshop teams it had not been possible to fix the issue in time to run the day's later sailings.

The government-owned firm said "subject to available capacity" passengers would be transferred to Manxman sailings while repairs were carried out.

It confirmed foot passengers at the Manx ferry terminal in Liverpool choosing to sail on Friday's 02:15 departure from Heysham would be transferred to the Lancashire port via a free coach.

The firm has apologised to passengers for the cancellations and the disruption caused.

Scheduled crossings to and from Liverpool on the vessel also had to be called off on 27 and 28 July due to a previous generator issue, which saw specialist engineers travel to the island to carry out repairs.