Taxpayers to dig for £20M for Liverpool Dock

[Happier diner]

2 hours ago, swoopy2110 said:

I genuinely can't wait until the day it arrives here, just to watch the DOI bods looking on dumbfounded as they realise that it's too big to dock in Douglas.

They won't be dumbfounded when that happens as the dumbfoundedness has already been. Have you not seen the current extension to the Pier that is happening as we type?

[Happier diner]

10 hours ago, Omobono said:

I hear the works  required  on the dolphin and  extension  to the berthing head  on the King Edward pier , plus any dredging of the harbour  are not likely  to commence until the Manxman is here , I just hope the DOI  have got their act together  regarding  the work required for the ships successful  operation in Douglas , 

Time Mr Thomas was ma king some sort of statement , anyone else heard whats happening ?

I think you need to go down and have a look. The work is in progress.

[Omobono]

you must go to spec savers ! the only work that has been going on at the king Edward pier is the relocation of some electrical  lighting ,I am not aware that a contact has been awarded yet for the works to extend the pier and dredge the harbour , and the DOI are keeping very quiet about it ,  so if you know what is happening down there then please share it with those taxpayers who will be picking up the cost 

[Happier diner]

2 hours ago, Omobono said:

you must go to spec savers ! the only work that has been going on at the king Edward pier is the relocation of some electrical  lighting ,I am not aware that a contact has been awarded yet for the works to extend the pier and dredge the harbour , and the DOI are keeping very quiet about it ,  so if you know what is happening down there then please share it with those taxpayers who will be picking up the cost 

I don't work for the DOI nor do I have any obligation to the Manx tax payer. What I can say though is that work is to be done to accomodate the larger boat and some parts of the work habe already been done. Maybe just preparatory stuff at this stage so maybe not obvious. 

You'll just have to take my word for it. It's a fact. 

[finlo]

22 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

I don't work for the DOI nor do I have any obligation to the Manx tax payer. What I can say though is that work is to be done to accomodate the larger boat and some parts of the work habe already been done. Maybe just preparatory stuff at this stage so maybe not obvious. 

You'll just have to take my word for it. It's a fact. 

Thanks Chris!

[Happier diner]

1 hour ago, finlo said:

Thanks Chris!

You're welcome......DOH!

[Roger Mexico]

On 12/13/2022 at 11:05 PM, Omobono said:

I hear the works  required  on the dolphin and  extension  to the berthing head  on the King Edward pier , plus any dredging of the harbour  are not likely  to commence until the Manxman is here , I just hope the DOI  have got their act together  regarding  the work required for the ships successful  operation in Douglas , 

Time Mr Thomas was ma king some sort of statement , anyone else heard whats happening ?

They'll commence before the Manxman arrives (said to be "in time for TT 2023"), but I don't think they're scheduled for completion till the Autumn.  That shouldn't matter too desperately as the added protection will be needed more in late Autumn/Winter and hopefully by there will be enough done to provide something at least.

The planning only went in in late July (it was approved in October) and project managers were approved at least by September, so I assume that contractors have been found by now and the DoI may be doing some preparatory work themselves.  But it all seems incredibly late, given how long they have known about the new boat.  You can't blame Thomas of course or possibly not Crookall before him (indeed he may have kicked things into action), but this should have been started years ago.

[John Wright]

10 hours ago, Roger Mexico said:

They'll commence before the Manxman arrives (said to be "in time for TT 2023"), but I don't think they're scheduled for completion till the Autumn.  That shouldn't matter too desperately as the added protection will be needed more in late Autumn/Winter and hopefully by there will be enough done to provide something at least.

 

As far as Manxman arrival is concerned I’m reliably informed arrival by end February, definitely before Easter. Then docking trials in Douglas, Heysham and, possibly, Liverpool ( but that’ll depend on when Liverpool is ready). Plus some minor fitting out. 

Operation of scheduled sailings by way of crew familiarisation will take place between 15 April and 22 May on selected sailings. Full take over will be 23 May. First timetabled sailing will be HEY - IoM @ 02.15 on 23/5

She was out on sea trials a week ago. There was a point she apparently achieved 26kts. That’s fast as operational speed will be around 19. But will come at huge penalty in fuel consumption.

[monasqueen]

5 hours ago, John Wright said:

She was out on sea trials a week ago. There was a point she apparently achieved 26kts. That’s fast as operational speed will be around 19. But will come at huge penalty in fuel consumption.

That seems extremely unlikely, as AIS tracking information showed that she was out for about six hours, and did not achieve anything above about ten knots.

The Steam Packets Blog says:

"On Saturday 10th December 2022, Manxman completed initial sea trials to test a number of important systems including: propulsion equipment, controls, mooring, navigation, radio and anchor equipment. Further trials to test speed, stabilisers and sound & vibration levels will be carried out closer to the vessel’s completion."

[Dirty Buggane]

Whom do you believe?

Its an enigma wrapped in a conundrum confounded by a mystery.  

[monasqueen]

I knew there was a picture somewhere. This was what Manxman allegedly achieved speedwise according to AIS.

[Andy Onchan]

Whilst on the HEY-IOM sailing yesterday afternoon I was told that IOMSPCo have disposed of MV Arrow. Anyone else heard that?

[Happier diner]

13 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

Whilst on the HEY-IOM sailing yesterday afternoon I was told that IOMSPCo have disposed of MV Arrow. Anyone else heard that?

Hi Andy

Check the Steam packet thread

 

[John Wright]

32 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

Whilst on the HEY-IOM sailing yesterday afternoon I was told that IOMSPCo have disposed of MV Arrow. Anyone else heard that?

She’s on charter to Condor. Was due back yesterday or today. SPCo did bring some freight in on something else.

Would be odd to dispose so quickly. I’d always thought they’d end the Arrow charter once Manxman was in service, and use Ben for freight back up. When they bought Arrow I did wonder if they’d sell the Ben, or long charter. There were rumours of Cook Strait, but Connemara is going there. A long charter to Condor would make sense.

On the other hand, if SPCo have found another charter until TT, and Condor are desperate, they might pay over the odds, to either extend the charter or purchase.

Condor are in a mess, freight wise after their freight roro sank the fishing vessel. Things a bit backed up. And the fast craft isn’t sensible all year round. The conventional RoPax was having to go the long way round to avoid the search area, for several days. Didn’t do the schedules any good.

Honestly, if we think our service, and the poor communication by SPCo, is bad, the Condor situation is dire. GSY still looking at funding or assisting fund, an additional boat.

[ballaughbiker]

Quote

A hell of a lot of complaints about the huge increases in TT travel costs, I'm a SPCo fan, but quite frankly they are strangling us now!

Read on another forum (twitter) that someone here on holiday had to change their foot pax return due to a rail strike day being called since their booking.

They tried to find alternative bus travel from Heysham to a remote bit of the Peak District (Edale), which proved impossible at a weekend, so were forced to change their booking to a day earlier. This caused a 43% increase in their fare which they pleaded to no effect.

Paraphrasing the SP (whom I normally defend) "Read the t&cs to which you agreed. A rail strike is not our fault and you need to claim our rebooking change charge from the rail companies". 

They appealed in writing which was also rejected.

This is a very poor look for what's left of our tourism. Sure, if people just 'change their minds', that is their choice and option and an extra charge is appropriate, but when a national rail strike forces the change ?

C'mon SP. FFS .... ! 

Please realise that social media can be a powerful positive or negative force depending on your attitude to customer service.