ONE of two of the bow thrusters on the Ben My Chree has sustained serious damage after the ship ingested debris.

The damage means that the after bow thruster cannot be used until a full repair has been carried out.

However the Steam Packet Company has said that as the forward thruster remains fully operational there will be no knock on effect to TT sailings.

Mark Woodward, chief executive of the Steam Packet, said: "The incidence of debris is just one of a number of operational considerations with which we have to contend. With the recent period of bad weather and heavy rain there has been an increase in the amount of debris in the coastal waters in which we operate.

"It is unfortunate that on this occasion we have sustained serious damage to one bow thruster which has rendered it inoperable. I can confirm however that this will not have an impact on our TT schedule.

"It is likely that we will need to take the Ben out of service for two short periods initially to remove the damaged unit and later to re-install the repaired unit. On each occasion we estimate that the Ben will be out of service for a period of 36-48 hours.

"The first of these periods will be later in June before the start of the busy school holiday season and the second one after the end of the main school holiday season.

"The timing of both of these will be dictated by the availability of manufacturer's specialists and dry dock slots as well of course as our desire to inconvenience as few passengers as possible.

"Passengers booked on affected sailings will be contacted and offered a transfer to an alternative sailing or be given a full refund.

"To those passengers and freight customers who may be affected I would like to apologise in advance and assure them that we will take all steps necessary to make any disruption as painless as possible."

According to a Steam Packet spokesperson if the weather conditions are fairly calm the Ben my Chree will be able to berth on one bow thruster. If the weather conditions are rough, but such that the Ben would normally be able to sail and berth, then tug assistance will be used.

Also see: Ben my Chree forced to return to Island due to bad weather in Heysham