Authorities at Heysham are conducting inspections on the linkspan at the Port following the incident which caused damage to the Manxman on August 21.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet’s flagship vessel suffered damage to its port aft quarter entering Heysham Port in the early hours of the morning, impacting the quayside and resulting in a small hole above the waterline.

This has led the Port Authorities to conduct an inspection of the linkspan to ensure it remains in an operable condition.

The necessary repairs on the Manxman were completed within 24 hours by the company’s crew and workshop engineering team, which led to the vessel returning to its usual service the day after.

While the Manxman was out of service, the Ben-my-Chree was utilised to operate passenger sailings, but due to the short notice and lower passenger capacity of the back-up vessel, a number of passengers missed out on their already-booked sailings.

A spokesperson from the Steam Packet said: ‘It is currently unknown how long the link span will be unavailable. While this continues, Steam Packet vessels will primarily be utilising Heysham’s number two berth.

‘As other operator’s vessels also use this berth, there is a knock-on effect on available slot times. This may result in some sailings being rescheduled to ensure that there is sufficient time to discharge and load.’

Disruptions to the Manxman’s schedule have mostly seen the vessel depart roughly one hour later than scheduled.

Foot passengers are also affected by the vessel’s current use of the port’s second berth, with coaches being used to transport these passengers to and from the terminal building.

This is due to the fact that there is currently no arrangement for safely discharging pedestrians from the alternative berth.

The spokesperson continued: ‘The company would like to apologise to any passengers for inconvenience caused during this period.

‘As previously confirmed, this has been exacerbated by the period of unseasonal weather, and large numbers of passengers travelling due to Manx Grand Prix, August Bank Holiday weekend and the final weeks of the school summer holidays.

‘We appreciate the swift response and tireless efforts of all the crew and staff as we continue to manage what has been a very busy time.

‘We will endeavour to keep passengers informed with as much notice as possible of any amendments to the sailing schedule. It is hoped that this situation will be resolved shortly.’

If you wish to keep up to date with the Steam Packet’s latest sailing times and updates, you can visit https://www.steam-packet.com/LatestSailings