The Council of Ministers (COMIN) met this morning (January 4) to discuss the impact and recent meetings regarding the disruption to services of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.
Following the meeting, Treasury Minister, Dr Alex Allinson MHK, said that there is “confidence that supplies of food, fuel and essential medications to the Island are not currently at risk”.
Although there have been reports of empty shelves in supermarkets over the past few weeks due to ferry disruptions, the Minister states:
“This is being closely monitored by the Isle of Man Governments Emergency Planning Strategic Group – with the Steam Packet, critical infrastructure partners and local retailers.
Treasury Minister, Dr Alex Allinson MHK
“We expect to receive regular updates from the Steam Packet during the ongoing industrial action, and following discussions yesterday are reassured that they will be examining all avenues available to them in order to deliver a full and resilient transport service for Island residents and businesses.”
Ferry disruption
With pressure mounting on politicians to intervene in the ongoing dispute between the state-owned Steam Packet and maritime union Nautilus, the Treasury issued a statement yesterday (January 3) after senior Ministers met with the Company.
The Chief Minister and the Treasury Minister met with the Chairman and Managing Director of the Steam Packet Company to get an update on the current stale mate over ‘live on board’ arrangements and the effect it is having on schedules.
An official statement from the Treasury outlined the basis of the talks.
“The discussion centred on gaining further insights into the current industrial dispute and exploring strategies to minimise disruptions to passenger services and to freight deliveries.
Treasury Spokesperson
“A series of regular updates will follow to keep abreast of ongoing developments and understand the approach taken to mitigate any potential passenger disruptions.
“The next steps and proposed measures will be shared and discussed with the Council of Ministers on Thursday, when a further update will be provided.”
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