The Manannan sailing to Liverpool has been delayed until 6pm this evening as engineers continue attempts to fix a generator.

The vessel had to return to Douglas this morning after an issue with the generator which led to the cancellation of the morning sailings to and from Liverpool.

The Manannan returned to Douglas so the issue could be fixed after getting as far as the mouth of the Mersey.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company now says the 3pm sailing to Liverpool has been delayed until 6pm although question marks remain over whether it will sail at all.

Providing an update, the company said: ‘Engineers require a further two hours to rectify the current problem being experienced.

‘To give this sailing every opportunity to proceed, the sailing has been delayed to 6pm. A further update will be given at 4.30pm.’

This is the second in under two weeks sailings have been cancelled for this reason.

A similar generator issue caused disruption last week which led to the cancellation of all sailings on Sunday, July 27 and Monday, July 28.

Specialist electrical engineers were flown in to assist the onboard and shoreside teams, who had already been working tirelessly to fix the fault.

Earlier, a spokeswoman for the Steam Packet apologised for the cancelled sailings on Thursday.

She said: ‘Due to a control fault on one of Manannan’s generators, it was deemed not safe to enter the approaches and port of Liverpool. There was also a risk that the vessel would not be permitted to depart Liverpool if the fault was not rectified.

‘The difficult decision was therefore taken to return the vessel to Douglas to allow passengers to transfer to Manxman to allow repairs to be carried out.

‘All passengers affected by the cancellations are eligible for free transfer to another sailing, or a full refund if preferred.’

Managing director Brian Thomson added ‘We’re very sorry about these cancellations and we apologise for the disruption caused. We’re working hard to get things back on track as soon as we can.

‘Our Reservations Team will do everything they can to ensure customers get where they need to go.’

Passengers on affected sailings can amend bookings free of charge via online accounts, or by contacting our reservations team on 01624 661 661 or 08722 992 992.

Full details of passengers’ rights in instances of delays and cancellations can be found on the website at: https://www.steam-packet.com/delays-and-disruptions-advice