The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Sheshaght Phaggad Bree Ellan Vannin) is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2005.

The company provides freight, passenger and vehicle services between the port of Douglas, Isle of Man and four ports in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

The Steam Packet Company is currently part of Macquarie Bank, an Australian investment bank.

Current routes

The routes which the Steam Packet Company operates are:

• Isle of Man to Heysham: year-round service (Ben-my-Chree)
• Isle of Man to Liverpool: year-round service (Viking)
• Isle of Man to Belfast: seasonal service only (Snaefell)
• Isle of Man to Dublin: seasonal service only (Snaefell)
• Isle of Man to Birkenhead: seasonal service only (Ben-my-Chree)

User Agreement

The Steam Packet Company is required to fulfil the terms of a User Agreement negotiated with the IOM Government's Department of Transport. Under the 2004 extension of the Agreement, the following minimum service levels are required:

• Inbound freight capacity, 7,800 lane metres per week.
• Service to north-west UK ports, 936 return sailings per year.
• Summer-period frequency to the Liverpool port range, a daily service from April to the third week in October.
• Services to the east coast of Ireland, 63 return sailings per year.

At present the Company’s published schedule exceeds all of the above requirements, hence gaining the sole user rights to the government linkspan in Douglas Harbour.

History

Beginnings

It originated, as its name suggests, in the Isle of Man, a self-governing democracy located in the Irish Sea at the geographical centre of the British Isles. Although it is not part of the United Kingdom, the Island is a Crown dependency.

There had been various shipping companies serving the Island before the formation of this company in 1830, but such crossings were irregular and vessels used were unreliable. As a result the Island could be cut off for weeks. The Manx people began to feel it was essential that they should have their own dedicated service and eventually a meeting was held in Douglas (the capital of the island) in 1829 from which was formed a committee charged with finding out the cost of a Steam Packet.

On June 30, 1830, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was born when the brand new vessel, Mona’s Isle, built at a cost of £7,250, sailed from Douglas to Liverpool on its very first sailing. Since that time, the Company has attempted to adhere to its founding principles of providing a dedicated and reliable sea service for the Isle of Man and its people.

War service

Vessels and crews of the company were actively involved in both the World War I and World War II, acquitting themselves with honour in both instances. One vessel, King Orry, which was attached to the British Grand Fleet, had the distinction of leading the German Fleet into Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands at the end of World War I.

During World War I, eleven out of a total fleet of 15 Steam Packet ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty, four of which were lost, three retained by the Government and four returned to service. Another vessel, Viking was one of the first (if not the very first) vessel to be converted to an aircraft carrier, serving as HMS Vindex and, in so doing, making a significant contribution to aviation and maritime history. Ben-my-Chree and Manxman also served as aircraft/seaplane carriers.

In World War II, ten of the fleet of sixteen ships were commandeered for active duty, four of which were lost. The Dunkirk evacuation was perhaps the company's finest hour, with ‘Mona’s Isle’ (not the original ship) being the first to leave Dover and the first to complete the round trip during the evacuation. Eight company ships took part in this historic mission, rescuing a grand total of 24,699 British troops, 1 in 14 of those evacuated from Dunkirk, from surrender or death.

Vehicle transport

The Steam Packet Company introduced a number of car ferries beginning with the Manx Maid in 1962. It now also operates a fast ferry service with the HSC Viking and the HSC Snaefell.

Today

The company still provides regular services. Both high speed craft and a conventional vessel make up the current fleet. In return for exclusive use of the port areas at Douglas, the Steam Packet Company has made a guarantee of regular services to the Manx Government.

In addition to the regular routes, the Company operates a small number of special day excursions to other destinations or round the Isle of Man during the summer months. Extra sailings are scheduled during times of high demand such as the TT period. The company also operates its own in-house travel agency.

2008 Rebranding

In June 2007, a new CEO, Mark Woodward, was appointed and since then has promised to improve the company's services and to return to the classic livery and promote the Island's culture.

The first part of the rebranding was first exercised with the Sea Express 1 becoming Snaefell and SuperSeaCat Two becoming Viking.

The fleet received a brand new livery, replacing the old SeaCo livery, much to the delight of enthusiasts. The vessels received complete internal refits which reflected the company's new colours and the rebranding of the company's on board lounges.

The terminals also received rebranding, with the announcements being accompanied by "Moghrey mie" (Good morning) or "Fastyr mie" (Good afternoon/evening), obviously depending on what time it is.

The company's first class and members club were renamed, with 1st becoming the Manannan Premium Club and the Blue Riband became the Manannan Executive Club respectively.

Ownership

In 1996, The Steam Packet Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sea Containers Ltd headed by James Sherwood, who had pioneered the fast craft operation. In July 2003, the Company was sold to Montagu Private Equity for £142 million, previously named HSBC Private Equity Ltd.

In 2005, the company was purchased by major Australian finance firm Macquarie Bank for £225 million, who also bought Wightlink, the Isle of Wight ferry company for £230 million.

IOMSPC fleet

The company originally started utilising wooden paddle steamers, which soon gave way to the steel "screw" vessels. The "screw" vessels were superseded by turbine steamers, the first being the 1905 Viking [1]. The company then replaced the passenger-only steamers with sideloading car ferries, the first diesel car ferry being the 1972 Mona's Queen [5]. Fastcraft then became the next generation of vessels to operate for the company, the first being the HSC SeaCat Isle of Man. The company now operates a mixed fleet of two fastcraft and one RO-PAX conventional ferry, the Ben-my-Chree [6]. In 2009, the current fastcraft Viking [2] is due to be replaced by Incat 050 - suitably renamed.

Current fleet

Ship	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Notes
Ben-my-Chree [6]	1998	1998	Douglas—Heysham/Birkenhead		Flagship of the Company
Incat 050	1999	2009	Douglas—Liverpool		Will enter service in February 2009
Snaefell [6]	1991	1994	Douglas—Belfast/Dublin
Viking [2]	1997	1998	Douglas—Liverpool		Ends service in October 2008

"Pre-War Steamers"

The company built five steamers over ten years from 1927. They were the replacements for the various second-hand steamers that the company purchased to replace its World War I losses.

Ship	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Notes
Ben-my-Chree [4]	1927	1927	Douglas—various		Requisitioned (1939-46), scrapped 1965.
Lady of Mann [1]	1930	1930	Douglas—various		Largest SPC ship until superseded by King Orry [5], requisitioned (1939-46), scrapped 1971.
Mona's Queen [3]	1934	1934	Douglas—various		Sunk (mined) at Dunkirk, 1940.
Fenella [2]	1937	1937	Douglas—various		Sunk (bombed) at Dunkirk, 1940.
Tynwald [4]	1937	1937	Douglas—various		Sunk (torpedoed) off Bougie, 1942.

"The Six Sisters"

The last turbine steamer in the fleet was the Manxman, introduced in 1955 and withdrawn in 1982, but still in existence and awaiting restoration in 2008. All six of the "The Six Sisters" were built at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead.

Ship	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Notes
King Orry [4]	1945	1946	Douglas—various		Decommissioned 1975, scrapped 1979.
Mona's Queen [4]	1946	1946	Douglas—various		Decommissioned and sold 1962, scrapped 1981.
Tynwald [5]	1947	1947	Douglas—various		Decommissioned and scrapped 1974.
Snaefell [5]	1948	1948	Douglas—various		Decommissioned 1977, scrapped 1978.
Mona's Isle [5]	1950	1951	Douglas—various		Decommissioned and scrapped 1980.
Manxman [2]	1955	1955	Douglas—various		Decommissioned 1982, awaiting restoration 2008.

"The Sideloaders"

The company developed a design of sideloading car ferries, with a spiral ramp at the stern. These could operate (as car ferries) from ports which were not equipped with linkspans. This design is unique to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company still today.

Ship	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Notes
Manx Maid [2]	1962	1962	Douglas—various		First Steam Packet car ferry. Decommissioned 1984, scrapped 1986.
Ben-my-Chree [5]	1965	1966	Douglas—various		Decommissioned 1984, scrapped 1989.
Mona's Queen [5]	1972	1973	Douglas—various		Decommissioned 1990, sold as Mary the Queen. Recently arrived for scrapping.
Lady of Mann [2]	1975	1976	Douglas—various		Decommissioned and sold 2005 as Panagia Soumela, converted to a stern loader. She was very popular and loved.

2007 accident

On 3 February, 2007, Sea Express 1 (formerly SeaCat Isle of Man) collided with the cargo ship Alaska Rainbow in heavy fog in the River Mersey. None of the 294 passengers and crew was hurt, and the ferry was moored at Liverpool Pier Head while water was being pumped from the engine room, a number of cars remained on board. She was later towed to the Cammell Laird basin in Birkenhead where all cars remaining aboard were offloaded. On 14 March, 2007, the Sea Express 1 was relaunched. In the meantime alternative service was provided by the only conventional ship. In December 2007, the vessel was renamed to become the sixth Snaefell.

Filmography

Steam Packet ships have been used in a number of films. Examples include Chariots of Fire where the team travel on a Steam Packet vessel with the Liver Building clearly visible. In the Barbra Streisand film, Yentl the ship carrying emigrants to the United States at the end of the film is the Manxman. The Ben-my-Chree [6] was used in 2004 as a double for an English Channel ferry in the film On a Clear Day.

See also

• Ellan Vannin
• HMS Ben-my-Chree

References

• Most of the contents of this article have come from the company's own web site
• Working the Sea, television documentary, BBC North West (2006) (Working the Sea feature - BBC Isle of Man website)

Notes

External links

• Official Website
• Marine Accident Investigation Branch: report into the Sea Express 1 & Alaska Rainbow collision (September 2007)
• Picture postcards of Steam Packet vessels from 1830 to the present day