Passenger delays as ferry damage to berth assessed

The Manxman was damaged last week after making impact with the quayside in Heysham

Isle of Man ferry passengers travelling to Heysham have been told to expect disruption as the usual berth is not in use following an incident involving the Manxman last week.

The vessel was damaged while docking at the Lancashire port a week ago when it made contact with the quayside as well as the berth's linkspan, leaving it out of action.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said while temporary repairs had been made to the vessel, the port authorities were still conducting inspections to the bridge structure.

That has led to the rescheduling of some sailings around other firms also operating from the other available berths, the firm said.

'Keep passengers informed'

The Steam Packet said as there was "no arrangement for safely discharging pedestrians" on the berth that was being temporarily used, coaches are being used to shuttle passengers to and from the terminal building leading to delays.

While it was not known how long the normal berth would be unavailable, it was "hoped that the situation will be resolved shortly", the firm said.

The incident had been "exacerbated" by the period of unseasonal weather, and large numbers of passengers travelling due to the Manx Grand Prix, August bank holiday weekend, and the final weeks of the school summer holidays, it added.

The firm has also confirmed its back up vessel the Ben-my-Chree has experienced a failure of its anchor winch but the vessel was due to be back in action by Thursday.