In order to provide extra freight capacity, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has had to make further changes to its sailing schedules tomorrow (Friday 21st December).
Ben-my-Chree passengers will transfer to Manannan for sailings to and from Heysham, still departing at the same scheduled times - 0845 and 1415 – with a 2 hours, 15 minutes crossing time.
The Ben-my-Chree will sail in ‘freight-only’ mode to provide maximum freight capacity in the very busy run-up to Christmas.
Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘I very much hope that passengers will understand the changes we have had to make to our timetable but this is necessary to ensure we can deliver the service that is expected by all of our customers at this critical time of year.
‘As I have said previously, poor weather over the last several days has compounded the problems and these changes will allow us to deliver the services needed in the run-up to Christmas to ensure goods are in the shops and where they need to be.
‘Passengers on the affected sailings will be contacted by our Reservations Team. We will also keep passengers advised if any further changes are required.’
The revised schedule is as follows:
Friday 21st December
Douglas to Heysham 08:45hrs – This sailing will now be undertaken by Manannan with a 2 hours, 15 minutes crossing time.
Heysham to Douglas 14:15hrs - This sailing will now be undertaken by Manannan with a 2 hours 15 minutes crossing time.
All other sailings will remain as scheduled.