Disruption ahead for Steam Packet passengers

Dredging at Heysham described as ‘inadequate’ 

It will be a weekend of disruption for passengers trying to get off the Island on the Manxman - with a raft of sailings already rescheduled.

This morning's sailing to Heysham will leave at 7:45am rather than 8:30am, and this afternoon's return leg will depart for the capital at 1:30pm rather than 2pm.

This evening's sailing to the Lancashire port will leave at 7:15pm rather than 7:45pm.

If there are any further changes we will of course let you know.

Increased siltation at Heysham and poor weather are being blamed for the changes, which also saw a crossing to the port and back cancelled yesterday.

SEVEN HOURS AT SEA

On Wednesday evening, passengers on the overnight boat to the Lancashire port were at sea for the best part of seven hours.

Despite a scheduled departure time of 7:45pm, the Manxman didn't leave Douglas for Heysham until shortly after 9pm.

It only docked at 3:50am - four hours later than it was supposed to.

It was a journey these passengers certainly didn't enjoy:

"WE GOT IT WRONG"

Last night the Steam Packet Company issued an apology to those who were onboard, saying its decision to clear ‘as much freight as possible’ from Douglas harbour before the vessel set off was ‘the wrong one’. 

The company said it felt it had to load the maximum number of freight trailers on the evening boat in order to clear the freight area, which has been temporarily reduced as a result of ongoing harbour improvement work. 

The Steam Packet says the late arrival of the Manxman was then compounded by another company’s scheduled departure time.

This meant the dockers ‘quite rightly’, the company says, gave preference to the vessel which was on schedule - something which led to a delay to discharge, and subsequent loading times, while the dockers served that vessel. 

The company says it fully understands the ‘frustration’ of passengers, and customers, at the delays and cancellations and shares them. 

It’s described dredging at Heysham as ‘inadequate’ and says this leaves the port ‘not fit for purpose’ and responsible for impacting the ability of the company to deliver lifeline services. 

That has been a common complaint from the company for several years, and something Government has promised to tackle in the past.

LIVE ABOARD

Elsewhere, the company is facing an ongoing dispute with the seafarers union Nautilus, which is to ballot its members over possible industrial action.

The crux of that dispute hinges around live aboard arrangements, which officers have rejected.

However, Treasury Minister Alex Allinson says those arrangements make the fleet more 'resilient'.

He highlighted the fact the Manxman wasn't forced to return to Douglas on Wednesday night, and instead waited until it could dock:

POSTAL SERVICES

So what do the changes to the schedule mean for postal services? Royal Mail recently stopped its air mail service, with the majority of the Island's post now brought to the Island by sea.

In a statement, the Isle of Man Post Office told Manx Radio: "The majority of our mail arrives on the afternoon sailing, whilst a smaller volume of mail arrives on the overnight boat. Upon arrival, Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) ensures that mail is delivered the next working day wherever possible.

"Unfortunately disruption to boat sailings, as was the case for flight disruption, can cause delays to the delivery of mail. IOMPO works hard to ensure any disruption has a minimal impact to customer deliveries

"As we approach the peak Christmas period with Black Friday [today], we urge all customers to order online and post as early as possible."