The Infrastructure Minister has admitted he has ‘no idea’ when a long-awaited revised Sea Services Agreement with the Steam Packet will be ready, despite work on the document having been ongoing for more than a year.

The agreement governs the island's lifeline ferry services and has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months following the introduction of a 25% increase in the Steam Packet's freight fuel surcharge and ongoing debate over ferry costs.

The issue was raised during Tuesday's Tynwald sitting by Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper, who asked what progress had been made towards a revised agreement.

Responding, Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall said the DoI had completed a detailed review of the existing agreement and established two working groups to develop a new framework.

He said one group, led by the DoI, had completed its work examining the legal, operational and compliance aspects of the agreement, while a second group, led by the Department for Enterprise (DfE), was still developing the socio-economic element.

Mr Crookall said: ‘Following the review, it is hoped that the new agreement, with modernised provisions that better accommodate socio-economic conditions, will be put into place.’

He added that discussions with the Steam Packet could not begin until that work had been completed, stressing that any revised agreement would have to be accepted by both the government and the ferry operator.

However, Mr Hooper questioned how much progress had actually been made since January.

He told Tynwald that two working groups had already been established while he was a political member within the DoI and that the department's review had effectively been completed before he left the role earlier this year.

‘So, can the minister just advise what progress has actually been made since then?’ He asked.

‘It feels like we are in exactly the same place now that we were in in January.’

Mr Crookall acknowledged the work should have been completed sooner.

He replied: ‘This actually should have been done last year. It wasn't completed last year. We are still working on it.

‘We need to make sure that it is right.’

Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover asked the minister whether he could provide a timeframe for when negotiations with the Steam Packet would begin.

Mr Crookall responded: ‘I have no idea on that question... but I will endeavour to find out.’

Mr Hooper also questioned the financial implications of the delay, suggesting the Department of Infrastructure was currently bearing the costs of operating and maintaining the Isle of Man's new Liverpool ferry terminal until a revised agreement was in place.

He asked whether those costs would eventually be recoverable from the Steam Packet and whether they were currently being met by the DoI's budget.

Mr Crookall said he did not have the figures available but undertook to circulate details, including information on costs and a potential timeline, to Tynwald members.

The Sea Services Agreement has become an increasingly prominent political issue this year.

Earlier this year, Treasury Minister Chris Thomas confirmed the government was not considering directly subsidising the Steam Packet's 25% freight fuel surcharge, noting that the surcharge is governed by the existing Sea Services Agreement between the Department of Infrastructure and the Steam Packet.