The Steam Packet has apologised to passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by fog.

Dense fog last Wednesday forced the Ben-my-Chree to abandon its attempt to dock at Heysham and return to Douglas - by which time passengers had been at sea for nine hours.

One passenger on board that day contacted the Examiner to complain that they had not been able to rebook on the next sailing until the Ben was back in Douglas.

They said they could ’see no reasonable reason’ why they couldn’t.

The Steam Packet said the crew got an indication from passengers about the likely numbers of those wishing to travel on either the evening, or following daytime, sailing.

But the booking system requires that the passenger manifest is preserved intact in case of emergency, so accurate information can be transmitted if needed to the search and rescue services.

The booking system therefore does not allow online amendments until a journey has been completed so as not to compromise the passenger manifest.

’We will now look carefully at what options we have to revise procedures, with a view to further improving the efficiency of the re-booking process during passage,’ a spokesman said.

The Steam Packet apologised to all those passengers affected.

It said the evening sailing was scheduled as a dangerous goods sailing meaning there was only limted room for additional passengers.

The spokesman thanked freight customers who assisted in resheduling the dangerous goods sailing to another night so that there was more space for both sea and air passengers affected by the earlier fog.