monasqueen Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 seems like the engine or gearbox problems are not over yet....was on the 7pm sailing last night - well it left at 8 something.... and nearing Douglas the darn thing stopped! Then it went backwards for a bit! If it's anything like a canal boat ( ) when you get a bit of rubbish round the prop, the easy way to clear it is to reverse a bit. That turns the prop the other way, and whatever it was unravels and falls off. The vessel doesn't seem to be going any slower today, so not the other gearbox, yet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 seems like the engine or gearbox problems are not over yet....was on the 7pm sailing last night - well it left at 8 something.... and nearing Douglas the darn thing stopped! Then it went backwards for a bit! Got going up to full speed again eventually but we didnt get in to Douglas till after 11. Couldn't hear what the captain said it was down to over the tannoy in the bar due to the noise, it had sucked some flotsum into the water intake and they have to go reverse to spit it out again (as it's a water-jet device not a propellor drive) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxie Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Seems like my journeys were a bit jinxed at the weeked.... The Saturday 7am sailing to Liverpool went late cause the trailers carrying the cases down the ramp jackknived and took ages to be loaded. My train to Leeds went late due to another train breaking down ahead and then the Viking was late leaving last night (as said earlier) cause it was late leaving Belfast due to an oil slick - allegedly. Then it stopped in the Irish Sea! So if you have a connection to catch etc dont get the same boat as me! There again, at least you do arrive eventually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feelslikeitshould Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 it had sucked some flotsum into the water intake and they have to go reverse to spit it out again (as it's a water-jet device not a propellor drive) It was a dolphin!!* My journey was a pain in the arse too but mostly due to trains, not boats. (Beware generalisation coming) People here always moan about the boat, the cost of the boat, the fact it never works or is delayed or if there is a slight breeze it won't sail...blah blah....Trains are just as bad. They are slow, they are expensive, they're usually late and on Sundays they hardly ever go due to rail maintenance meaning you have to sit on a coach for 2 hours instead. *If the drunk women were to believed....Stupid drunk people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Just found this report about Steam Packet cost cutting: There is nothing new in this world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Just found this report about Steam Packet cost cutting: There is nothing new in this world! How come he forgot to mention the Agreement!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 They can't 'ramp up prices throught the roof' because they are limited as to how high they can raise them vs inflation (unlike most UK operators). They could up the fuel surcharge, but that would leave them open to scrutiny by Hendo's OFT. The fuel surcharge has now gone up to £2.50 each way per foot passenger. You can ignore the agreement - fuel surcharges fall outside of any inflationary restrictions they are governed by and will keep on going up. Plus the OFT has already shown itself to be the most toothless agency on this Island. What happened to the investigation into electricity prices? Oh yes bugger all. Its simply a fact of life that we have to pay high prices. If you are stupid enough to believe that they won't ramp fares through the roof for next year whether they travel at 5mph or 30mph across the Irish Sea then you go and believe it. I know which side the odds are on. So Oldmanxfella you just roll over on your back and let them rub your tummy and tell you that you are a good dog eh? No I've just lived here for more than 10 minutes (unlike, it would appear you) and are used to the way things are always done here. Its a simple fact fares will go up irrespective of the speeds used, or whatever silly protestations you make on these threads. You seem to think the laws of supply and demand apply in pegging fares to this Island. 150 years of history should show you otherwise - people will pay what they have to pay to get off this Island and if they don't like it tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Wasn't the fuel surcharge always £2.50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Wasn't the fuel surcharge always £2.50? No its gone up for foot passengers as far as I can work out (I think it was £2). I accept your points but fuel surcharges are an easy way of responding to this spike and nobody can argue with them. Fuel has self evidently gone up, the OFT have no gounds to rule on whether a surcharge is fair or not as its not a permanent charge or increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effervesce Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Not being funny BUT - The new incat .... has anybody measured to see if it fits on the Liverpool stage? not to mention Douglas. He he he Careful! That would be asking the steam racket to have foresight and not waste money so they can justify charging us more for sailings........which take longer because "just fixed, refitted, rjigged" crafts breakdown, AGAIN! ;o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I've just lived here for more than 10 minutes (unlike, it would appear you) and are used to the way things are always done here. Its a simple fact fares will go up irrespective of the speeds used, or whatever silly protestations you make on these threads.You seem to think the laws of supply and demand apply in pegging fares to this Island. 150 years of history should show you otherwise - people will pay what they have to pay to get off this Island and if they don't like it tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Because the Steam Packet Company has an agreement with government, it is obliged to operate services that other operators on purely economic grounds would not. The Steam Packet Company continues to absorb the majority of the recent years price increases - only a small proportion is recovered by way of the fuel surcharges now applied. The agreement with government requires that a minimum speed for fastcraft is maintained. Fast craft services have been instrumental in growing visitor numbers to the Island and our own market research clearly indicates that passengers place a high priority on speed of sea travel. Many other operators are closing routes and slowing down their vessels. The agreement with government therefore ensures that we as Islanders continue to enjoy services that others are having taken away. This is an excellent piece of work. I particularly liked the "we as Islanders" bit with all it's "in this together" associations - a very nice touch. However closer scrutiny is probably in order: "Because the Steam Packet Company has an agreement with government, it is obliged to operate services that other operators on purely economic grounds would not" is an assumption of course as tenders are a dim and distant memory. I suppose you could argue that the profit margins are not high enough for some operators but the latest owners would not have purchased a loss-making entity, they purchased it because it was a good return on their investment. "The Steam Packet Company continues to absorb the majority of the recent years price increases - only a small proportion is recovered by way of the fuel surcharges now applied" tells me they had a large operating margin to start with. Also it's ALL increases, not just fuel. However you can be sure in these days of rising prices it's not only a fuel surcharge that has been added... "Fast craft services have been instrumental in growing visitor numbers to the Island and our own market research clearly indicates that passengers place a high priority on speed of sea travel. Many other operators are closing routes and slowing down their vessels" sure travel deadens the mind so we want it over with as quickly as possible. You don't need to do market research to figure that one! But did the "market research" give a choice of speed over lower cost? Errr... don't think so! I think it's a bit of a snow job, particularly the "fast craft" bit. I would like to see the P&L breakdown on freight and cars/passengers. Because freight doesn't care that much. You could load it at 9:00 pm and have it on island and distributed by 8:00 am easy peasy. Fuel isn't the only cost and as we all know time is money. Surely going slower increases your wage bill and possibly cuts down the number of crossings? They're still there to make money and as much as they possibly can and they will continue to do so. It's also a very simple operation with a captive market. Nice work if you can get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Surely going slower increases your wage bill and possibly cuts down the number of crossings? That's probably a big point in them not slowing down overmuch - it would interfere a lot with the crewing of the vessels, to the extent that they would need to pay out for more staff, and if they had to cut out some of the crossings too, they're not going to see any gains. You can't play around too much with Ben - she is scheduled for 2 round trips a day, and needs a bit of time to load/offload all the freight trailers. She might be able to slow down a bit - say arrive at 06.00 and 18.00 in Douglas, but the first would affect the time the newspapers get to the shops, and the second makes it a bit of a push to get turned round for the evening sailing (preferable to get people to the UK before midnight and give them a chance to drop into a hotel or whatever). The winter round trip to Birkenhead needs full speed, as it is a longer trip without any spare time. The cats could go slower and we have seen Viking doing just that, on 3 engines, but then as we have seen the schedule starts going wayward, and she has no time to turn round. You couldn't keep that up for long. He's probably done his sums and worked out that there is not enough flexibility to allow for slower running, and he's picked the spin on it that works best for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Surely going slower increases your wage bill and possibly cuts down the number of crossings? That's probably a big point in them not slowing down overmuch - it would interfere a lot with the crewing of the vessels, to the extent that they would need to pay out for more staff, and if they had to cut out some of the crossings too, they're not going to see any gains. You can't play around too much with Ben - she is scheduled for 2 round trips a day, and needs a bit of time to load/offload all the freight trailers. He's probably done his sums and worked out that there is not enough flexibility to allow for slower running, and he's picked the spin on it that works best for him. Based on the timetables the Ben has 10 hours port time each day (2 return crossings to Heysham), the Viking 14 hours (2 returns to Liverpool) and the Snaefell 12 hours (if it is servicing Dublin and Belfast each day). For example the Irish Ferries Rosslare - Pembroke service has port time of 8 hours per day with its two return crossings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 it had sucked some flotsum into the water intake and they have to go reverse to spit it out again That has been confirmed by HIM - from today's blog. "She did however ‘ingest’ some debris over the weekend into one of her water jets. Luckily prompt action by the crew and a quick manoeuvre astern managed to clear this. " Perhaps she caught crabs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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