Cargo shipping company Mezeron has bought itself quite a Christmas present.

The firm has acquired a new freight vessel, Snaefell River, which is currently en route to Ramsey from Estonia, and is due to arrive on December 25.

It will replace the Silver River which is currently up for sale.

But it has emerged that the Snaefell River is no stranger to the Isle of Man - and its previous encounter did not end well.

In its previous incarnation as CEG Orbit, the vessel ran aground on the northern coast of the Isle of Man at Cranstal.

The then Latvian registered freighter had been sailing from Liverpool to Belfast with a cargo of wheat grain in August 2021 when it came to grief.

A Maritime Safety Investigation report found that ship’s bridge had been left unattended when the chief officer had an urgent need to go to the toilet.

The report notes: ‘At about 2am the chief officer felt a sharp pain in his intestines and he had an urgent need to leave the bridge to go to the toilet located one deck below.

‘The engineer officer who had been resting in his cabin was awoken by the hull vibrations caused by the grounding, assuming engine or gearbox problems the engineer ran to the engine room to investigate.

‘He didn’t find anything obvious but noted that the main engine had slowed down so he went to the bridge to find out what had happened.

‘The chief officer ordered the engineer officer to wake up the master which he did immediately. Together with the master the engineer officer returned to the bridge to see the vessel was aground.’

The cargo ship was refloated at the second attempt the following day with the help of a Manx tug boat.

CEG Orbit then made way under her own power to Douglas harbour where further inspection revealed minor propeller damage on two blades, a dent to the starboard aft bilge keel, but no hull breaches or cracked welds.

The report concluded that the chief officer failed to follow a direct instruction from the master by not calling him to the bridge to be temporarily relieved from his key function of safely navigating the vessel.

CEG Orbit carried that name between March 2020 and February 2022 when it was purchased by a Cypriot company and became Laila. It was renamed Snaefel River after its purchase by WS Mezeron this month and now sails under the Manx flag.

Mezeron’s Silver River is up for sale with Dutch boat dealer Dick van der Kamp Shipsales with an asking price of $330,000.

Steve Walton, managing director at Mezeron, confirmed that the Snaefell River would be replacing the ‘much beloved’ Silver River.

He said: ‘This vessel is larger than the Silver and removes some of the issues we have faced for years with [its] size.

‘The Silver River will continue to operate in early January whilst we get familiarised with the Snaefell, and then will cease operations at some point and the Snaefell will take on the workload. It is the right time for us to make the change and keeping the business on a strong path.’