Update - Ben-my-Chree out of action until 31st December.

The Steam Packet reported on Saturday morning that a fault with the Ben-my-Chree steering gear would mean the ship would need immediate attention as the rudder would not respond correctly.

Due to the time it would take to get the repairs underway the company was putting the Manannan back in service starting on Sunday evening on the Heysham route with the MS Arrow taking over freight services.

The Ben-my-Chree is now expected to be out of service until Wednesday 31st December for repairs to be completed.

Queues formed at the booking office over the weekend as passengers expressed their concerns over the lack of information being provided with phone calls not getting through - see MTTV video news for more

Chief Executive Mark Woodward has apologised, asking passengers to contact reservations on 01624 661661

‘On behalf of the Steam Packet Company I sincerely apologise to all our passengers and customers at this busy time of the year. I assure you that we have been making, and will continue to make, every effort to restore normal services as soon as we possibly can.’