Isle of Man ferries face disruption as wind forecast

The Ben-my-Chree will carry out Manannan's sailing to Liverpool on Sunday morning

Strong winds over the Irish Sea will hamper Sunday's ferry sailings, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has said.

The Ben-my-Chree will cover Manannan's crossing from Douglas to Liverpool an hour later than planned at 08:30 BST.

Its return sailing will be brought forward by half an hour to 14:00.

Meanwhile, the Manannan's crossing to Heysham in Lancashire has been moved 15:15, and the Manxman's round the island cruise has been cancelled.

A spokesman for the Steam Packet forecast winds of in excess of 30mph (48km/h) and ongoing damage to the Manannan had made the schedule changes necessary.

On Friday it was confirmed one of the fastcraft's engine would require a full rebuild and the vessel would operate on only three for the remainder of the 2023 schedule.

The wind speeds were predicted to exceed Manxman's current temporary operating limit for entering Douglas Harbour, he said.

New ferry Manxman had been due to sail around the island between 10:00 and 14:00

Managing director Brian Thomson said the decision to make changes to the schedule was "not one taken lightly".

"Our team has considered various options to ensure sailings can go ahead as far as possible, but we can't ever compromise on safety.

"We have done our level best to ensure minimum inconvenience, but we can only apologise to those customers who have to make changes to their plans because of this announcement."

The round the island cruise on the island's newest ferry would be rescheduled as soon as possible to "ensure everyone gets the chance to experience Manxman", he added.