Ceremony set to welcome Manxman to Isle of Man Steam Packet fleet

A ceremony is to take place at to officially welcome the new Manxman to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company fleet.

The new vessel arrived on the island on 2 July after travelling 12,000 nautical miles from the dockyard it was built in in South Korea.

An welcoming ceremony is due to be live streamed on Douglas Head on Sunday.

The £78m vessel is the Steam Packet's first new passenger and freight ferry since 1998.

As part of Sunday's ceremony the company's managing director Brian Thomson will make a speech on the quayside, before the traditional breaking of a champagne bottle on the Manxman's bow.

Liverpool terminal manager Janice McDowall, who has been an employee of the company for more than 20 years, will carry out the honour of wishing the Manxman well.

The Manxman can accommodate about 950 passengers

The ceremony will be followed in the evening by a fireworks display and a sail by in Douglas Bay by the vessel.

Other guests include members of the crews, project team contractors, politicians and artists who were commissioned to create pieces for the vessel.

While the Manxman has been in Manx waters for almost a week, work still needs to be done to ready the vessel for its maiden voyage, which it is hoped will take place by the end of the month.

Mr Thomson said: "It's really important, that having come this far, we don't compromise on any element of the introduction to service.

"Our crew and team are top class and I know everyone is pulling to make Manxman a big success on this summer's sailings."

A date would be confirmed once crew training and regulatory work had been completed, he added.

The vessel can accommodate about 300 more passengers than the Ben-my-Chree, and has about double the number of cabins.