The Steam Packet has confirmed that Manxman will no longer return to service this month as hoped, but instead no later than the end of November.
It is following the repair of the vessel’s two propulsion shafts which has left the ship out of service since July.
Steam Packet Managing Director Brian Thomson said: “We recognise the frustration this outage has caused and sincerely apologise to our customers.
“Safety is our highest priority, and Manxman will return to service only when all work is complete and fully tested. We are confident in the revised timeline announced today.
“In the meantime, Ben-my-Chree, Manannan and Arrow will continue to provide the passenger and freight capacity needed to maintain our lifeline services.”
Further Delay
The vessel was due to return to service at the end of September, however both shafts have had to be transported to Denmark where specialist companies have now sourced the materials and are in the process of making the repairs.
Repairs in Denmark will take up to 6-8 weeks to complete and following their delivery back to the UK a re-assembly process of the shaft bearings and liners will begin at the shipyard in Liverpool.
Manxman is currently in the Wet Basin at the shipyard in Liverpool. Her propulsion shaft bearings and liners are due to return to the shipyard in preparation for her re-entry into dry dock.
Sea Trials
Once in dry dock, work will begin to refit the bearings and both propulsion shafts, each weighing more than 17 tonnes and measuring 18 metres in length.
The Steam Packet says this is a “highly complex operation, which will be followed by testing, sea trials and inspection by the Company’s regulators”.
An investigation into the root cause of the wear on these parts is now being carried out by independent specialist marine investigators and the Steam Packet will provide an update once the work concludes.
