With the conclusion of the Holiday World Show Belfast 2026, the team from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Visit Isle of Man are reporting the launch of the new strategic link between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man has been warmly received by public and businesses alike.
IOMSPC were joined at the show by a number of personalities, including the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, whose constituency includes Larne.
Other important stakeholders to attend the event included Laura Gilmore, General Manager of Larne Port, Barry Carroll General Manager of Doyle Shipping Group, Tom McKay, Harbour Master of Larne, and eleven-time TT winner Phillip McCallen (link opens in Facebook) – a long-time supporter of increased connectivity between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company commitment to the route saw a senior team attend the event, led by Brian Thomson, Managing Director. With Mr. Thomson were Head of Customer Experience Seamus Byrne, Business Development Manager, Richard Hird, and Steam Packet Holidays Supervisor Christina Callin.
Visit Isle of Man, who partnered with IOMSPC for the show, were represented by Director of Business Development, Nicola Wilkinson and Marketing Manager Natasha Johnson.
Over the course of the three days of the event the team spoke to businesses and potential holidaymakers, all eager to make use of the new three-times a week service that starts in late July 2026.
The travel trade in particular responded well to the announcement, and IOMSPC took a number of bookings for tours and travel operators and, alongside colleagues from Visit Isle of Man, were able to respond to many more enquiries from interested travel businesses.
As well as the schedule, the team were able to promote the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company’s strategic pricing reset which includes the headlining ‘Kids Go Free’ offer, which applies to all scheduled sailings throughout the year, and the inflation busting Flexi Fare 10% discount, extended through to the end of May 2027.
There was media interest in the launch of the new link, with Belfast Live (opens in new tab) and Belfast 89FM (opens in facebook) conducting interviews with IOMSPC staff on the stand. The announcement of the new route has resulted in other media coverage across Northern Ireland. The Company is also attending the sister event in Dublin to further spread the message about enhanced sailing links between the island of Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Responding to customer feedback, in November 2025, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company announced a two-year commitment to an enhanced Irish service, including initiating a year-round link between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
The commitment will also see a major internal refit of former flagship Ben-my-Chree to better suit it to the role of Ireland vessel.
In the summer season Ben-my-Chree is also slated to visit Dublin twice a week, meaning that the island of Ireland will be served with five sailings a week in high season, and three times a week out of season.
While the Holiday World Shows are focused on the travel industry, the launch of the route has further potential economic benefits for the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland via growth of trade and deepened business links.
Larne is a popular port, about 30 minutes’ drive from Belfast. Larne Harbour offers deep-water berths, that also serve the vital Cairnryan route to Scotland, enhancing the Isle of Man’s strategic connectivity.
The full sailing schedule is available on the website now and sailings on the Larne and Dublin routes can be booked up to May 2027 now.
The full 2026/27 sailing schedule is now available to book up until late May 2027 via the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company website.
ENDS