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Fri, 07 Jul 2023
Tuesday’s successful deployment of Manxman’s Marine Evacuation System, or MES, marked another milestone on the road to getting the Company’s new flagship into service.
Although Manxman, which arrived in the island’s waters on Sunday, looks ready for action, there’s a lot of very important work behind the scenes to ensure it’s in first rate condition to start carrying the travelling public.
The test of the MES, observed by Isle of Man Ship Registry officials, as well as the Company’s internal safety team, is a step towards the issuance of the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, allowing Manxman to officially carry paying passengers.
However, Manxman’s entry into revenue earning work also requires her crew and captains to be familiarised with bringing the vessel into the ports she regularly uses, at all states of wind and tide.
Masters will need to make multiple entries into Heysham Port at the controls of Manxman in order to update their ‘Pilotage Exemption Certificate’ before commencing sailings.
These operations also give dockers and ropemen an opportunity to practice with the new vessel which, although 8 metres longer than Ben-my-Chree, has been designed to be a good fit with both Douglas and Heysham port.
Alongside these tests, the vessels freight handling facilities need to be thoroughly put through their paces, with trailers and vehicles of all types loaded and unloaded to allow crew and shore side staff to be fully familiarised with the new features of Manxman, and to ensure loading and discharge operations are as efficient as possible.
As the operational elements of Manxman’s entry into service are ticked off the list, so the passenger services side of the new vessel are thoroughly rehearsed and evaluated. Manxman can accommodate roughly 300 more passengers than Ben-my-Chree, with approximately double the number of cabins.
An illustration of the size of the challenge for the crew on board is that the floor space of the Cornaa Café, forward on deck 7, is approximately equal to all of the public space on Ben-my-Chree.
James Royston, Fleet Operations Manager and Manxman Project Manager commented ‘With Tuesday’s MES deployment successfully completed, and filmed for the safety video, Manxman’s entry into service has made a significant step forward. Everyone on shore and on board is working really hard with that goal in mind – the sooner it is in service and doing the job it was designed for, the sooner the travelling public will get to experience the material improvement in service and comfort we’ve been striving for since the start of this project.’
Brian Thomson, Managing Director of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said ‘We know what Manxman means to the travelling public, but we also know what it represents for the future of travel to the Isle of Man. It’s really important, that having come this far, we don’t compromise on any element of the introduction to service. Our crew and team are top class and I know everyone is pulling to make Manxman a big success on this summer’s sailings.’
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