The Steam Packet is likely to seek an extension to the life of the Manannan, but the future of fast-craft services seems uncertain.

Emails released under a Freedom of Information request show that the Department of Infrastructure has been discussing the company dropping the fast craft.

Built in 1998, the Manannan has served the Steam Packet since May 2009 and is due to be replaced by a fast craft or fast conventional ferry by the end of 2026 under the Sea Services Agreement (SSA) between the company and the government.

However, while public support for fast-craft services between the island and Liverpool remains strong, this is going to be difficult to sustain in the longer term because of costs and environmental rules.

In emails released following an FoI request by Media Isle of Man, director of harbours Dave Gooberman refers to the company’s ‘Fleet Strategy’ and how this will have implications for the SSA.

Addressing former infrastructure minister Chris Thomas in April this year, he said: ‘Not only does this [the fleet strategy] affect the SSA but also Douglas Port bearing in mind the Victoria Pier linkspan is only really good for a fast craft all year so if we move away from having a fast craft, extensive works will be required (we are currently in the process of scoping out a life extension program for the 48-year-old existing linkspan with a potential total replacement in five years in line with the Douglas Harbour Master Plan).’

In an email from August this year from Mr Gooberman to Ken Milne, an officer at DEFA, he said that the company is ‘looking at extending the life of the Manannan’.

A Steam Packet spokesperson told the Manx Independent that the company ‘faces a difficult task in replacing the popular and reliable high-speed craft with a vessel that is affordable, fit for purpose and which complies with existing and future emissions regulations’.

They added: ‘A direct like-for-like replacement would be likely to breach environmental restrictions and become uneconomical in a very short period of time.’

Steam Packet managing director Brian Thompson added: ‘The maritime sector is, like the automotive industry, experiencing a period of very rapid technological development.

‘What we don’t want to do is to commit to either a new or second-hand high-speed craft design that uses a technology that becomes obsolete very quickly.

‘Equally, building a new vessel with new technology is fraught with risks.

‘The Board feel it is in the best interests of the Company and its stakeholders to allow time for the technologies to mature and the future regulatory environment to stabilise before committing to such an expensive and important purchase. We hope to work closely with our partners in DoI to ensure the best result for the Isle of Man.’

The Steam Packet also said that the company is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and is ‘actively investigating technologies’ that would allow it to both comply with emissions regulations and the ‘spirit of the SSA’.

As part of this, the company has submitted a strategy document to the DoI and will work towards finding a solution that is ‘satisfactory to all stakeholders’, while, it says, ‘being very conscious of how much the travelling public values quick services to Liverpool’.