Manannan damage to cost upwards of one hundred thousand pounds

Thu, 09 Apr 2015

This shows the reversing flap, which is critical for the safe maneuvering of the vessel and evidence of heavy trauma. Picture supplied by the Steam Packet Company.

Damage to the Manannan will cost the Steam Packet more than £100,000 to repair.

That's according to chief executive Mark Woodward - who says it's the worst damage that the vessel has sustained on record.

This week's cancelled sailings are due to a damaged propulsion and maneuvering system - leaving thousands of people with disrupted travel plans.

Passengers have been inconvenienced by 17 major incidents since 2007 - when schedules have been altered to accommodate ship repairs.

The P&O Express ship chartered to cover yesterday's Belfast sailings was also damaged upon leaving the Island.

The company reported an issue similar to the problems experienced by the Manannan.