Manxman, the Steam Packet Company’s new flagship, had its official welcome ceremony on Sunday.

Guests were welcomed on board the 1,000-capacity vessel to look around and publicly welcome her to the Isle of Man.

The people invited included crew members, the artists who have been commissioned to make pieces for the vessel, project team members including contractors, politicians, representatives of the travel industry, media, local business leaders and some of the charities and stakeholders which helped to inform the design of Manxman from an accessibility point of view.

Although the vessel looks ready for action, the Steam Packet says there’s still a lot of very important work behind the scenes to ensure it’s in first-rate condition to start carrying the travelling public.

The ‘welcoming ceremony’ was streamed live to a screen on Douglas Head for members of the public to watch, with restricted access on the quayside.

Janice Mcdowall, Liverpool terminal manager, had the honour of naming the vessel, and made the crowds laugh when the traditional champagne smash on the bow of the vessel took two attempts.

Brian Thompson, the Steam Packet’s managing director, also gave a speech to welcome the boat to the Isle of Man.

Manxman is built to replace Ben-my-Chree on the Heysham freight route but, on the completion of the Department of Infrastructure’s new Liverpool terminal, Manxman will make weekend visits in the winter.

Ben-my-Chree will still be used by the company for other routes.

While the work to the Manxman is continuing ahead of a maiden passenger voyage pencilled in for later this month, the crew and captains are familiarising themselves with bringing the vessel into the ports she regularly uses, at all states of wind and tide.

Masters will need to make multiple entries into Heysham Port at the controls of Manxman in order to update their ‘Pilotage Exemption Certificate’ before commencing sailings.

These operations also give dockers and ropemen an opportunity to practise with the new vessel which, although eight metres longer than Ben-my-Chree, has been designed to be a good fit with both Douglas and Heysham port.

Docking the vessel isn’t the only preparation needed before the Manxman is set for its first voyage with passengers, with the crew having a big challenge to ensure the lounges, cafes, bar and shop is ready.

The Cornaa Cafe, the cafe for the general public on deck 7, is about the same size as all the public space on Ben-my-Chree.

Mr Thomson said: ‘We know what Manxman means to the travelling public, but we also know what it represents for the future of travel to the Isle of Man. It’s important, that having come this far, we don’t compromise on any element of the introduction to service. Our crew and team are top class and I know everyone is pulling to make Manxman a big success on this summer’s sailings.’