The Department of Infrastructure has said that future arrangements for the Isle of Man's strategic sea services will include a focus on ways to increase resilience on Manx routes.
The provision of spare capacity for both passenger and freight services will be considered, along with the types of vessels to be operated and the ability to respond to breakdowns or periods of adverse weather.
In the meantime, the Department will continue to work with the Steam Packet Company to assist passengers during occasions when travel to and from the Isle of Man is disrupted.
Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK says he has held productive discussions with senior management at the Steam Packet in response to the difficulties experienced over the Easter weekend.
He confirmed that a number of issues raised by TravelWatch have already been reviewed as part of proposals to minimise the impact of any future travel disruption.
The Minister said that while damage to fast craft vessels and thick fog had created an unusual set of circumstances, further efforts would be made to improve the flow of information to passengers.
He said:
'I fully appreciate that travel disruption is a major concern for the public and I wish to thank passengers for their patience and understanding over the Easter weekend. Every endeavour will be made to try to limit the impact of any similar situations in future. The Department of Infrastructure is currently considering the long-term provision of strategic sea services and part of that work will look at creating greater resilience on our ferry routes. We will also see what can be done at the Sea Terminal and Airport to assist operators by providing accurate and up-to-date information to passengers.'
In previous discussions with TravelWatch the Minister said he believes lessons have been learnt from travel disruption experienced over Christmas.
He said:
'It would be easy to just criticise the carriers, but the Steam Packet has made significant improvements to its passenger handling arrangements. The Steam Packet is also one of the few operators with the ability to bring in additional capacity at short notice. While it would be ideal to have a spare vessel on standby to cover all eventualities, very few shipping companies have the ability to provide contingency measures for "just in case" scenarios. The Department is also acutely aware that the constraints of Douglas harbour make it extremely difficult to charter an appropriate vessel to cover for short-term emergencies.'
He added:
'Circumstances conspired against the operators over Easter. Normally if sea services are disrupted passengers would have the option of making use of air services. However, on this occasion the damage that forced the Manannan out of action for several days coincided with a period of fog and adverse visibility at the airport.
'I am in regular communication with Steam Packet senior management and will continue to discuss current issues and ways to improve services for Manx people and visitors to the Isle of Man.'
