The Ben-my-Chree is due to be replaced as the Steam Packet’s flagship vessel by the end of 2021 under the new sea services agreement due to be laid before Tynwald this month.

The sea services agreement would replace the user agreement, which was ordered by Tynwald to be secured within a year of the completion of the nationalisation of the ferry company in May last year.

The heads of terms of the new agreement state that it will come into force on January 1, 2020, subject to Tynwald approval, and is set to dictate the island’s sea services for the next 25 years.

Included within the document is provisions for passenger and freight fares, replacing the current vessels, the frequency of travel and to which ports the company’s ferries will sail.

The agreement secures a ‘best endeavours requirement that the Steam Packet replace the Ben-my-Chree with a new RoPax vessel (a vessel suitable for Ro-Ro freight and passengers), by December 31, 2020, with a long-stop requirement of December 31, 2022, taking into account the capability and availability of appropriate shipyards’.

The new vessel will be the previously reported ‘Heysham max’ size of 142m and will be able to carry 800 passengers, compared to the Ben-my-Chree’s capacity of 630.

It will also have an increased freight capacity with 1,250 lane metres available, which the agreement states is necessary as ‘major freight customers reported a need for greater volumes of high-trailer capacity’.

The new agreement says: ‘As the Ben-my-Chree and Manannan are 20 years old, they will both require replacement in the near future.

‘Although Manannan is reported to be in good condition for her age and could be operated for several more years, the passenger facilities on Ben-my-Chree are less than ideal because the ship was originally designed with a focus on freight rather than passenger traffic and then subsequently extended.’

The Ben-my-Chree will be retained as the back-up vessel, which will be available to other companies to charter except at peak times such as the TT and MGP fortnights.

The Manannan is required under the agreement to have a refurbishment by the end of March 2021 and to be replaced by ‘no later than December 31, 2026’. However, it is not clear whether the new vessel would be new or a refurbished ferry as the agreement only requires that the vessel should be less than 10 years old at the time of purchase.

It is also not known if the new vessel will be a fast craft or a ‘fast conventional ferry’.

The number of sailings to the north west of England is to rise slightly ‘to a minimum of 947 sailings compared with the current requirement of 936’. This includes the Liverpool and Heysham sailings.

However, there will be a decrease to services to the island of Ireland to 52 sailings. The decrease will probably be in the winter months which are ‘uneconomical’.

The Heysham sailings will continue to be twice a day as standard, with the 2.15am sailing seen as vital for the island’s major retailers to have fresh food in stores.

The Steam Packet will continue to use the Pier Head landing stage in Liverpool until it is no longer viable. If this is before the completion of the new Princes Half-Tide Dock site, then ‘it will agree an alternative port with the Department of Infrastructure for the period’.

There is good news for passengers. Foot passenger fares will be frozen until a new vessel replaces the Ben-my-Chree and 450,000 special offer fares will be made available each year, compared to 275,000 under the current deal.

And children under 16 and students in full-time education will be able to travel at half-price adult fare, while higher weekend prices will not apply between October 1 and March 31, saving up to £50 on a car-plus-two booking.

For more on the new sea services agreement, see Tuesday’s Isle of Man Examiner.