MEZERON announced it was to end its daily freight service to and from Liverpool in February.

The company had started the service – in direct competition with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company – in October but announced it was to end on February 19.

In a statement issued by the company it said the route had not grown enough for it to continue to be run profitably.

Jorg Vanslow from Mezeron said: "We would like to thank our customers, partners, stevedores, our staff ashore and the crew on board of the chartered vessels alike, which have helped to make this project happen.

"At Mezeron we strongly believe that all our decisions must be customer driven so they can choose what suits their requirements best.

"We set out to prove that we can offer a first class container service to the Island - and we did.

"This project was always ambitious and I make no apology for that. Unfortunately on this occasion we did not see the volume growth expected and necessary to continue this particular service profitably.

"We are proud to continue to provide our regular services from Glasson Dock and Belfast to the Isle of Man carrying general cargo and containers."

The Steam Packet Company had raised concerns over the freight route saying it would affect its business and in January pulled a number of Irish sailings as a result.

The RMT Union, which represented some of the Steam Packet workers, claimed "their (Mezeron) plans have been torn apart by a union and a community campaign that has forced the company to back off".

This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.