MV ''Manxman'' is a new-build Ro-pax ferry which entered service with the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

(IoMSPCo) on 17 August, 2023.

History

Order and construction

The ship was ordered on 31 July 2020 and was built by the

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard is one of the largest shipbuilding companies with world share rank 1 (50%) in PC (Product Carrier). Since the 1980s, more than 10,000 ships were repaired and converted until 2005 and 400 newly ordered ships were delivered ...

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, being laid down on December 24, 2021. Construction commenced in the summer of 2021. On 1 December 2020, following a naming competition, it was announced that the ship would be named ''Manxman'', the third vessel in the history of the line to bear the name.

Sea trials

''Manxman'' started her first sea trials in December 2022. However, during the course of the trials a significant fault was found in the ship's gearbox. This necessitated a return to the shipyard where the gearbox was replaced. The Sea Trials resumed in April and were carried out over the course of ten days in the

Korea Strait The Korea Strait is a sea passage in East Asia between Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and ...

between South Korea and the Japanese island of Tsushima. The trials involved various tests on the vessel's maneuverability, speed and fuel consumption with the tests proving satisfactory.

Naming ceremony

On May 3, 2023, ''Manxman'' officially received her name during a ceremony held at the Mipo Dockyard, the christening being performed by Ms. Geraldine Ugland. As is Isle of Man Steam Packet Company tradition, the name has been painted in gold and will remain so for the first year of her service.

Delivery

At 02:40hrs

GMT Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...

, 11:40hrs local time, on May 11, 2023, ''Manxman'' was officially handed over when Chairman of the Board of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Lars Ugland, signed the official documentation to complete the transfer of ownership on behalf of the Company. On Saturday May 13, under the command of Captain Andy Atkinson, ''Manxman'' departed Korea enroute to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for additional fitting out prior to her commencement of service. The delivery voyage of approximately 12,000 miles was originally planned to stage via

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

and Jeddah prior to transiting the Suez Canal, and then to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and England. However, an alteration enroute resulted in the stop at Gibraltar being cancelled and thus ''Manxman'' made passage through the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

via

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

which was her last port of call prior to reaching

. ''Manxman'' arrived at the pilot station off

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

at 08:15hrs

on Sunday July 2. She was boarded by the senior

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for the Port of Douglas, Captain Stephen Carter, before she proceeded to berth at No.5 Berth, King Edward VIII Pier. The occasion marked Capt. Carter's final duty prior to his retirement.

Official welcoming ceremony

Foremost of the celebrations around ''Manxman's'' arrival was her official Welcoming Ceremony, which took place at Douglas on Sunday July 9. The ceremony was performed by Mrs. Janice McDowall, Manageress of the Company's Liverpool Terminal. The formalities were streamed live to a big screen which had been constructed on

Douglas Head Douglas Head (Manx: ''Kione Ghoolish'') is a rocky point on the Isle of Man overlooking Douglas Bay and harbour. Views extend to include Snaefell Mountain and Laxey. General Until 1870, the headland was owned by The Nunnery Estate when Sir ...

in addition to which the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's Managing Director, Brian Thomson, made a speech on the quayside, and at 11:15 local time the traditional champagne bottle was broken onto ''Manxman’s'' bow. The occasion also saw the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man,

Alfred Cannan Alfred Louis Cannan MHK is an independent Member of the House of Keys for Ayre & Michael and is the current Chief Minister of the Isle of Man. He was previously the Minister for the Treasury. Cannan sought the position of Chief Minister in 2 ...

MHK, given a guided tour of the ship. The festivities concluded with a firework display in Douglas Bay and a sail past by the ''Manxman.''

Service

Following arrival at her home port, ''Manxman'' spent a period undergoing operating drills and docking procedures at the Port of Douglas. Part of this prelude to working up to operational efficiency saw ''Manxman'' make her first visit to the Port of Heysham on 11 July 2023. ''Manxman'' commenced operational service on Thursday 17 August 2023 on the company's main schedule to Heysham, replacing . The Company will retain ''Ben-my-Chree'' on a standby basis, to be in service during busy periods or when ''Manxman'' undergoes routine overhaul.

References

2022 ships Ferries of the Isle of Man Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Ships built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group {{ferry-stub