The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has explained why Manannan’s sailings to Liverpool have gone ahead this week while the Manxman’s planned journeys across the water have been scrapped.

A number of the flagship’s voyages to Heysham have been ditched or disrupted over the past few days due to adverse weather.

All Manxman sailings to and from Heysham were scrapped on Monday, while there were further cancellations on the route on Tuesday.

Tuesday evening’s Douglas to Heysham crossing did sail, however it was delayed by more than an hour.

This morning’s sailing to Heysham was also delayed by around 45 minutes, meaning the return crossing will also be hit by a delay.

In a response to criticism about the disruption to Manxman’s sailing schedule, the Steam Packet has responded to a number of queries from customers and residents about the vessel after ‘trawling through social media’.

And the ferry firm said that the ‘very different’ wind conditions in Heysham compared to Liverpool was one of the reasons behind the Manxman’s scrapped and delayed sailings.

Steam Packet Fleet operations manager James Royston said: ‘The wind conditions in Heysham can be very different to those in Liverpool.

‘Also due to the topography of the land and buildings around the ports, they are affected by winds of a different direction.’

Many have also questioned whether Manxman is ‘too big for Heysham’.

Mr Royston responded by saying: ‘Manxman’s dimensions are based more on Douglas than Heysham, as Douglas is a smaller port.

‘Manxman is 133m long but other vessels using Heysham are up to 147m long.

‘It’s draught is pretty much the same as Ben-my-Chree’s and can be altered in port through the use of ballast tanks and the in-built stability system.’ The ferry operator also issued an apology to ‘anyone who had travel plans disrupted’ by the bad weather.

It added: ‘The last thing we ever want to do is cancel a sailing, however safety has to come first’.