THE Steam Packet Company has called for better protection for its vessels after spending £1 million on repair work to its fast craft Manannan.

It says the navigational approaches into Douglas Harbour need to be better protected to stop debris, such as fishing pots and marker buoys, from being ingested into a boat's mechanics.

Mark Woodward, the chief executive of the Steam Packet Company, said: "The Isle of Man needs protected navigation routes and the co-operation of all those fishing in Manx waters to help prevent this sort of damage to our vessels and the resulting inconvenience to many thousands of passengers.

"Our fast craft have now suffered damage on nine separate occasions in recent years as a result of fishing gear ingestion in Manx waters.

"It is time that the navigational approaches into Douglas Harbour were better protected as is the case with all other ports we serve. This is essential to protect the Island's lifeline and maintain reliable services for passengers."

Sailings on the Manannan today (Wednesday) have been cancelled to allow engineers to carry out essential maintenance work. Passengers have been offered alternative sailings.

The fast craft operates by channelling water through an underwater impellor and on several occasions these have ingested a fishing marker buoy. This impacts the impellor and causes associated impellor blade, gearbox and power train shock. This can damage both shaft bearings and can also damage gearboxes.

The Steam Packet Company has said it is disappointed that Manannan has suffered several reliability issues this year which are "related to wholly avoidable incidents at sea" which inconvenience thousands of passengers and cost thousands of pounds to repair.

It also added that repair work can often take many months to complete because items such as the gearbox are specialised pieces of machinery and are not readily available from manufacturers.

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