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The Isle of Man The Isle of Man Isle of Man Latest News Isle of Man History Manx Government Manx Legislature Offshore Low Tax Banking on Isle of Man Manx Property Manx Sport Isle of Man TT Isle of Man Tourism Isle of Man Hotels Isle of Man Ferries Manx Cats Isle of Man Maps Isle of Man Towns Isle of Man Flags Isle of Man Coins Useful Contacts Isle of Man Plus... Isle of Man IN DEPTH Isle of Man Site Map Isle of Man Articles Other Low Tax Islands Bahamas Cayman Islands |
The Isle of Man FerryThere had been various ferry companies serving the Isle of Man before the formation of The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1830, but such crossings were irregular and vessels used were unreliable.
As a result the Island could be cut off for weeks. The locals began to feel it was essential that they should have their own dedicated service and eventually a meeting was held in Douglas (the capital of the island) in 1829 from which was formed a committee charged with finding out the cost of a Steam Packet. |
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On June 30, 1830, The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was born when the brand new vessel, ‘Mona’s Isle’, built at a cost of £7,250, sailed from Douglas to Liverpool on its very first sailing. Since that time, the Company has adhered to its founding principles of providing a dedicated and reliable sea service for the Isle of Man and its people. War Service Vessels and crews of the company were actively involved in both the World War I and World War II, acquitting themselves with honour in both instances. One vessel, ‘King Orry’, which was attached to British Grand Fleet, had the distinction of leading the German Fleet into Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands at the end of World War I. During the World War I, eleven out of a total fleet of 15 Steam Packet ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty, four of which were lost, three retained by the Government and four returned to service. Another vessel, ‘Manxman’, is believed to have been one of the first (if not the very first) vessel to be converted to an aircraft carrier and, in so doing, making a significant contribution to aviation and maritime history. In the World War II, ten of the fleet of 16 ships were commandeered for active duty, four of which were to be lost. Dunkirk was perhaps the company's finest hour, with ‘Mona’s Isle’ (the original vessel) being the first vessel to leave Dover and the first to complete the round trip during the evacuation. Eight company ships took part in this historic mission, rescuing a grand total of 24,699 British troops from certain death. As a matter of interest and of record, this means that 1 in 14 lives saved during the Dunkirk evacuation was brought out by an Isle of Man Steam Packet ship. The Steam Packet Company introduced car ferries beginning with the 'Manx Maid' in 1962. Other information The company's aim is to provide consistent services with convenient and fast crossing times and to offer a wide range of promotional fares to the travelling public. Fast craft and conventional vessels make up a modern fleet providing high levels of on-board service. In addition to the regular routes, the Company operates a small number of special day excursions to other destinations during the summer months. The company operates its own in-house travel agency, Steam Packet Holidays, formally Magic Holidays. The Steam Packet Company operate ferry services between the Isle of Man and Heysham (Lancashire, England), Liverpool (Merseyside, England), Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Dublin (Republic of Ireland). Services to England are operated by the company flagship, the Ben-my-Chree, which carries both freight and regular car and passenger traffic between the Island and England. Services operate twice daily throughout the year, with a crossing time of 3 hours 30 minutes. During the TT Race period, additional fast craft services operate, cutting the crossing time to just 2 hours. They also operate a regular SuperSeaCat service between the Isle of Man and our second English port, which is Liverpool in Merseyside. Our port at Pier Head in the centre of the 2008 Capital of Culture, is set against the backdrop of the world famous Liver Buildings and is just a stones throw to the main shopping district. Services to Liverpool city centre operate throughout most of the year, with a slightly reduced winter timetable. In addition to their services to England, they also operate seasonal fast ferry services to Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Dublin (Republic of Ireland). Both services operate approximately twice weekly in the peak summer period, making the crossing from the Isle of Man to each port in around 2 hours 45 minutes. The Steam Packet Company vessels
The Company has chartered / operated other vessels during its history
Extract from the Company Website... The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company History The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is the oldest continually operating passenger shipping company in the world, having began operations in 1830 – thus celebrating its 175th anniversary only last year. The Isle of Man before the Steam Packet Company Prior to 1830, there were other shipping company’s serving the Isle of Man, before the Steam Packet Company was formed. The smuggling trade (causing considerable loss to the British Revenue) led to the Crown purchasing the Isle of Man from the Atholl family in 1765 and the Redcoats moved in. Two years after this, Westminster organized a weekly packet boat service between Douglas and Whitehaven, thereby providing a lifeline to the Garrison on the Isle of Man. Irregular crossings Sea crossings between the Isle of Man and England could be terrible and ships could be driven back to Cumberland after days at sea and there were times during the winter months when the Isle of Man was cut off for weeks. The sailings carried too many of the Isle of Man’s young men away, who wanted to escape the harshness of Island life. But, many people arrived on the Isle of Man – some adventurous wanting change, some merely escaping creditors (debts in the United Kingdom could not be enforced on the Isle of Man). Population growth The Isle of Man’s population grew between 1767 when the first regular sailings started from 20,000 to around 40,000 by the time the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was formed. From the beginning of the 19th Century many things happened to open the Isle of Man to an increasing amount of traffic. Work on the Red Pier at Douglas commenced in 1793 and was completed in 1801 at the cost of £25,000 to the British Treasury. The first Engine ships In 1815, sail was giving way to the first Engine. The first steamer called at the Isle of Man on its voyage from the Clyde to Liverpool and in 1819 James Little opened up the first steam ship service to the Isle of Man using it as a port of call between Liverpool and Greenock. The first class fare was 17 shillings and 6 pence from the Isle of Man to Liverpool including provisions and steward’s fees, with second class without provisions costing 9 shillings and 6 pence. The ferry journey between Douglas and Liverpool first took 10 hours, later reduced to 9 hours and was a seasonable trade with no winter services. More competition on the Irish Sea Competition arrived with the St. George Steam Packet Company of Liverpool, commencing a service between Liverpool and Glasgow in 1822, using a vessel called the St. George and calling at Douglas. The locals began to feel it was essential that they should have their own dedicated sea service. In 1926, a Manxman named Cosnahan living in Liverpool took over a new steamer called Victory, put her on the Douglas-Liverpool route for 2 months and then offered to syndicate shares in this enterprise. He failed to get the support he had expected, no doubt he was disappointed, his family came from the Vicar of Santon and the family had produced a number of Manx lawyers and clerics. A need for stability Soon the Manx people started to feel that they deserved their own dedicated service and preparations began to form a suitable company. A meeting was held at Dixon and Steele Sale Rooms at Douglas Harbour on December 17th, 1829 during which a committee was appointed charged with finding out the cost of a Steam Packet and £4,500 was immediately subscribed from the floor. Just 6 months later, a total of £6,250 had been raised in 290 shares of £250 each. So, on June 30th 1830 the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was born although it was actually called the Mona’s Isle Company at that time after the Company’s first vessel of the same name. The Steam Packet Company’s war record No review of the Company’s history would be complete without reference to its distinguished war record. Our vessels and many of our crews were actively involved in both the 1st and 2nd World War, acquitting themselves with honour in both instances. The King Orry for example, which was attached to the British Grand Fleet, had the distinction of leading the German Fleet into Scapa Flow at the end of the First World War. During the Great War, 11 out if a total of 15 Steam Packet Company vessels were requisitioned by the Admiralty, 4 of which were lost, 3 retained by the Government and 4 returned to service some 4 years later. One particular vessel is worthy of mentioning the Manxman as she is believed to have been one of the first (if not the very first) vessel to be converted to an aircraft carrier, to launch Sopwith Pup single-seater planes, and in doing so making a significant contribution to nautical and aviation history. The 2nd World War saw the Steam Packet ships employed on war service once again. This time, having rebuilt the fleet to 16 vessels, it had its best 10 ships commandeered for active duty – 4 of which were sadly to be lost. Dunkirk was perhaps the Company’s finest hour, with the Mona’s Isle being the first vessel to leave Dover for Dunkirk and the first to complete the round trip during the evacuation. Eight company ships took part in the historic mission, rescuing a grand total of 24,699 British Troops from certain death (as a matter of interest, this means that 1 in 14 lives saved during the Dunkirk evacuations was brought by an Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel). Happier times Fortunately there have been happier times since, with the company owning some 71 vessels in total from its inception to the present day. We saw a busy summer seasons during which Douglas became a fashionable resort for tourists from England aided further by the introduction of car ferries, starting with the Manx Maid in 1962. And of course, a very special mention is due for the continued success of the Isle of Man T.T. Race Festival which takes place late in May/early June each year. In fact, 2007 sees the 100th anniversary of the road racing festival. During the TT race fortnight, the Steam Packet Company carries over 35,000 passengers and around 13,000 motorbikes on around 250 sailings (serving up around 36,000 pints of beer, 40,000 sandwiches, 9 tons of chips and 200,000 cups of tea!) Current services Today we operate regular ferry (and fast ferry) services which connect the Isle of Man to Heysham, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin. Those who reminicise about the past are often surprised to learn that we have more passenger sailings now than at any time in the past 50 years. We offer the latest fast craft ferry services having utilized SeaCat and SuperSeaCat vessels since their introduction to the Island some 12 years ago (the first SeaCat Isle of Man crossing from Fleetwood on June 28th, 1994 taking just 94 minutes). SuperSeaCat 2 now operates services to Liverpool, Dublin and Belfast with crossing times of 2 hours 30 minutes to Liverpool and just slightly longer to Ireland. For a more leisurely cruise across the Irish Sea, we offer the Ben-my-Chree which operates a twice daily service between Heysham and Douglas. We carry around 600,000 passengers annually and 170,000 cars and motorcycles. This represents an increase in passenger traffic of around 35% and 50% in vehicle traffic since 1996 not a bad performance given the increased competition from airlines servicing the Isle of Man. Almost 97% of our passengers now benefit from our special offer fares, with half of our customers now choosing to book online via this website for the best fares car special offers are discounted by £10 return and foot passenger and motorbike fares are discounted by £5. For those who do not have access to a computer, we offer booking facilities over the telephone by calling + 44 (0) 870 5523 523 and also have computer terminals installed in our Douglas port. Ownership of the Steam Packet Company The Company is owned by the Macquarie Bank Group, a massive concern which employs over 6,800 people and has interests in over 23 countries. They also recently bought the Isle of Wight ferry company Wightlink for £230 million. Also owned by them are South East Water, Birmingham Airport, Bristol Airport, M6 Toll, M1-A1 link and BBC Broadcast and Arqiva. They are a diversified international financial services group and a global leader in the infrastructure and essential services sector. The future So, the Steam Packet is now in its 176th year of service. We will continue with our special offers programme, with our long term strategy to increase online bookings and also to upgrade our existing booking system to offer online amendments giving customers even greater control over their travel with us. We already offer the facility to register online to receive our latest special offers with 50,000 customers taking us up on this to date. As dawn rolls in to meet the ancient shores of the Isle of Man, the capital’s harbour is a hive of activity as the crews and shore staff of the oldest ferry operator in the world are busy at work. Just as they did in the nineteenth century, these men and women sustain the lives and businesses of the Manx people. Now celebrating 175 dedicated years on the seas – this is the story of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. We look forward to welcoming you on-board SuperSeaCat 2 or the Ben-my-Chree in the very near future. For further information and booking contact: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company www.steam-packet.com |
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