The Steam Packet regrets to announce that both the Monday September 12th 19:45 Douglas to Heysham and Tuesday 02:15 Heysham to Douglas services are cancelled due to continuing adverse weather conditions. Irish Ferries, P&O and Stena Line have also had to cancel Irish Sea services.
Although the forecast for Tuesday is improving, there is still the potential for disruption. However, at present the Company is hopeful that Tuesday morning sailings will proceed as scheduled.
The Steam Packet Company apologises for the inconvenience caused to its passengers and freight customers and continues to review the weather forecast at regular intervals. Passengers affected by the disruptions will be able to transfer to alternative crossings.
Repairs to the damaged gearbox on Manannan are progressing, utilising the weather enforced downtime. The components were transported from Germany over the weekend and work on refitting the gearbox commenced last night. Steam Packet engineers are assisting specialist gearbox manufacturer representatives. We hope to commence testing procedures prior to re commissioning during the next operational voyage.
Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘If all goes well, Manannan should be back on full power later this week. The gearbox manufacturer has advised that the damage to the gearbox could have been caused by ingress of floating objects, perhaps a lobster pot or fishing mark into the water jets causing transmission shock to the gearbox shaft. Fishing pots and debris are a recurring problem for all fast craft and it is imperative that shipping lanes should always be kept as clear as possible to avoid unnecessary damage and consequential delays.’
