Ministers have met with representatives of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company amid widespread disruption to the ferry firm's planned sailing schedule.
The Chief Minister Alfred Cannan and Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson held talks with the chairman and the managing director of the Steam Packet, Lars Ugland and Brian Thomson, on Wednesday morning.
The Steam Packet is owned by the Isle of Man Government but the authority employs an 'arm's length' policy regarding its control of the firm.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the Steam Packet had been forced to slash the number of Manxman sailings for the next two weeks.
Sailings on the firm's flagship vessel have been halved to one a day from today (Wednesday).
The company says one of its officers has unexpectedly had to take leave due to personal reasons.
And due to Nautilus members' ongoing industrial action, 'no fellow officers will swap shifts or cover the absence via paid overtime,' according to the Steam Packet.
That means the Manxman will be undermanned for the next two weeks, forcing the company to implement a daily passenger sailing for 14 days.
The Steam Packet says it is deploying its reserve vessel, Arrow, to maintain overnight freight services.
In a statement following the meeting this morning, a spokesperson for the Treasury said: 'Today, the Chief Minister and Treasury Minister had a meeting with the Chair and Managing Director of the Steam Packet Company.
'The discussion centred on gaining further insights into the current industrial dispute and exploring strategies to minimise disruptions to passenger services and to freight deliveries.
'A series of regular updates will follow to keep abreast of ongoing developments and understand the approach taken to mitigate any potential passenger disruptions. The next steps and proposed measures will be shared and discussed with the Council of Ministers on Thursday, when a further update will be provided.'