THE Steam Packet Company has appealed to the public for patience and understanding while it waits for the Ben-my-Chree's bow thrust unit to be repaired.

It says it has been "badly let down" by the manufacturer who is fixing the broken bow thruster and as such it is unlikely it will be fixed until April next year.

One of the Ben-my-Chree's bow thrust units was damaged in May this year when it ingested debris while sailing.

The damaged unit was removed during emergency dry-docking and the unit was sent to the manufacturers Wartsilla for repair.

The Steam Packet Company say it made arrangements for the unit to be refitted in June and September of this year but they fell through.

New arrangements were made for the boat to be dry-docked this month and in January next year but these have also been cancelled.

In a statement released by the Steam Packet Company chief executive Mark Woodward said: "Despite constant pressure from us we have been badly let down by the manufacturer.

"On two separate occasions they failed to meet the promised repair timeframe. Planned dry dock slots, freighter charter, crewing and other arrangements had to be cancelled.

"The manufacturer now suggests the repaired unit will not be ready until the New Year. This is just as frustrating to us as I am sure it is to our passengers and freight customers.

"We would, of course, prefer to have two functioning bow thrusts. The Ben has an enviable record of near 100 per cent reliability and we value that very much.

"Not only do cancellations inconvenience our passengers and freight customers it also harms the reputation of a fine vessel that has been a great servant to the Island."

Mr Woodward also responded to suggestions that the recent cancellations of the Ben-my-Chree had been down to the missing bow thruster and not just the poor weather.

He continued: "Unfortunately severe gales have been much more prevalent this winter than is the norm.

"This has had some effect on our sailing reliability but it is quite clear that many of those sailings would have been cancelled even if the Ben had both bow thrusts."

Mr Woodward added that the company was "highly motivated" to restore the bow thrust unit.

He said: "We want to speed up the repair time - the costs of operating the vessel with only one bow thrust dramatically increase.

"Tugs are very expensive and we lose revenue if a sailing has to be cancelled. The bow thrust repair is enormously costly as is the cost of dry docking the vessel so we need to minimise lost revenue and additional costs.

"So we are highly motivated to restore the second bow thrust and with it the reliable level of service given by the Ben.

"However we cannot take the Ben out of service even when the second unit is ready unless we can source a replacement charter vessel to cover her freight duties.

"Yet we cannot commit to firm dates for a freighter request until we have clear visibility on the timeline for the repair.

"Despite initial enquiries there is no obvious suitable charter vessel available. Of the many freighters in the market only a few are small enough to fit Douglas and Heysham harbours.

"For all these reasons my belief is that we may have to operate with only one bow thrust until the scheduled biennial dry-docking in April although if we can complete this work earlier we will.

"We have already fixed a replacement charter vessel for this. I would ask for your understanding and your patience while we work to fix this as quickly as is possible."

Also see: Ben-my-Chree bow thruster to be repaired in April 2012

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