Isle of Man Steam Packet provide update on Manxman repairs

Specialist repairs to the two propulsion shafts removed from the Steam Packet Company’s flagship Manxman are nearing completion in Denmark, with the components expected to return to the UK shortly.

The 18-metre-long shafts are being worked on by Marine Shaft A/S, a specialist marine engineering company based in Hirtshals, northern Denmark.

Steam Packet fleet operations manager Scott Wright recently visited the facility to oversee the work and meet with the team carrying out the repairs.

The company said transporting the shafts to Denmark by road and ferry had itself been a logistical challenge, with each shaft weighing more than 17 tonnes.

Once the specialist machining work is completed, the shaft will return to the UK, where the complex process of reinstalling them aboard Manxman will begin.

The latest update comes 11 days after managing director Brian Thomson told Media Isle of Man that the vessel’s previously announced late-November return date was ‘not set in stone’.

It had initially expected Manxman to return to service by the end of September, before extending the timeframe to at least the end of November following the discovery of significant wear to the vessel’s propulsion shaft liners and associated bearings.

Mr Thomson said at the time that the company was ‘hopeful’ of meeting the revised timeframe but was dealing with the facts as they developed.

The latest Steam Packet statement does not give a revised return-to-service date, but says the shafts are now nearing completion of the repair work.

Mr Thomson said returning Manxman to service remained the company’s ‘first priority’, but safety could not be compromised.

He said: ‘The management team working on this critical project has kept myself and the Board regularly updated on progress of repairs to Manxman.

‘As we have said from the start, these repairs and returning Manxman to service is the Company’s first priority and while a timely resolution matters to everyone, nothing can be allowed to compromise safety.’

He added that the company was confident the repairs had been undertaken ‘to the highest standard’ and would allow Manxman to return to service and deliver the reliability it had previously shown.

‘Finding the right partner was central to that,’ he said.

‘Very few sites anywhere are equipped for work of this scale and high-quality engineering, and Marine Shaft are the right partner to deliver these specialist repairs.’

Mr Wright said Marine Shaft had shared the Steam Packet’s priorities from the outset.

‘From our first approach it has been clear how much Marine Shaft share our priorities, precision engineering and workmanship, full compliance with safety standards, and a determination to complete these repairs on time,’ he said.

Manxman entered dry dock in July for scheduled maintenance and inspections, but was subsequently found to have wear affecting its drive shafts, liners and associated components.

An independent investigation into the root cause of the wear remains under way.

Mr Thomson previously said the investigation would be allowed to ‘run its course’ and did not link the propulsion problems to the depth or conditions of Douglas Harbour.

While Manxman remains out of service, the Steam Packet has recalled freight vessel Arrow from charter to provide additional freight resilience, while Ben-my-Chree continues to operate passenger services.