Follow the Manxman from South Korea

[swoopy2110]

1 hour ago, Cambon said:

Chartering out Arrow, and possibly Manannan in the winter.

Chartering out Manannan in the winter is a good idea with the BMC being able to be used as backup.

Where would she go though ? The Caribbean!?

[swoopy2110]

And on that note...

https://gef.im/news/politics/packet-wants-to-drop-ben-38864/?fbclid=IwAR2Ybab_HjcRf46eLKJNf8Di07eJHDlpPgm9R05dqJtBIrYQS39gooQliyo

Sounds like they want to sell BMC! This would mean they wouldn't be able to charter out Manannan in the winter surely.

[newaccount]

Sailings for the next few days will all be on Ben My Chree (not Manxman)

 

Source: https://www.steam-packet.com/latestsailings

Edited August 17, 2023 by newaccount

[Jetfour]

Only one return trip!?

…. and not an iceberg in sight!  😲

Edited August 17, 2023 by Jetfour

[Blade Runner]

41 minutes ago, newaccount said:

Sailings for the next few days will all be on Ben My Chree (not Manxman)

 

Source: https://www.steam-packet.com/latestsailings

Too much wind, apparently according to the press.

Who would have thought that there was wind in the Irish Sea?

FFS, This is a clusterfuck of even more standing than the shed in Liverpool.

Look at the video that Amadeus posted on X showing the 2 ships.

Look at the side elevation of both ships, which looks like it will catch the wind worse than the other?

Answers on the back of a postcard/ email to AlfHomeAlone57@AOL.com

Edited August 17, 2023 by Blade Runner

[Max Power]

5 minutes ago, Jetfour said:

…. and not an iceberg in sight!  😲

And after I'd rearranged all the deck chairs on the iceberg too!

[Max Power]

1 minute ago, Blade Runner said:

Too much wind.

Who would have thought that there was wind in the Irish Sea?

FFS, This is a clusterfuck of even more standing than the shed in Liverpool.

Look at the video that Amadeus posted on X showing the 2 ships.

Look at the side elevation of both ships, which looks like it will catch the wind worse than the other?

Answers on the back of a postcard/ email to AlfHomeAlone57@AOL.com

We don't really know if there's anything wrong, the Manxman is bound to have different characteristics to the Ben, it's probably a case of overcoming any uncertainty?

I remember the Jonah's Isle having problems at Heysham in high winds. There was additional superstructure added which acted like a huge sail. I can't imagine the same mistake being repeated surely, the designers will have taken all this into consideration, I hope!  

[Non-Believer]

2 hours ago, Gladys said:

That's not a bad thing though is it? 

Not a bad thing at all, Glad but it needs to be remembered where that profit is coming from in order to do it, the dividend is being paid by every travelling visitor and anybody who purchases anything that's travelled here by sea/surface freight. In essence it's another arm of taxation that is bailing out our financial predicament, to include honouring Govt's commitments to itself.

[NoTail]

Not a mariner but is this actually a thing?

 

You design and order a specific boat to sail a specific route. After years and millions of pounds building it it takes over a month to find out how to sail it and do certain "tests" .

Can some expert on here confirm whether this is normal or expected for a ferry company?

[WTF]

21 minutes ago, Blade Runner said:

Too much wind, apparently according to the press.

Who would have thought that there was wind in the Irish Sea?

FFS, This is a clusterfuck of even more standing than the shed in Liverpool.

Look at the video that Amadeus posted on X showing the 2 ships.

Look at the side elevation of both ships, which looks like it will catch the wind worse than the other?

Answers on the back of a postcard/ email to AlfHomeAlone57@AOL.com

paging VOR   .......

[John Wright]

16 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Not a bad thing at all, Glad but it needs to be remembered where that profit is coming from in order to do it, the dividend is being paid by every travelling visitor and anybody who purchases anything that's travelled here by sea/surface freight. In essence it's another arm of taxation that is bailing out our financial predicament, to include honouring Govt's commitments to itself.

£1million dividend is 1.34% of freight and passenger and passenger services income. It’s not going to result in any meaningful reduction in passenger fares if not paid.

[John Wright]

14 minutes ago, NoTail said:

Not a mariner but is this actually a thing?

 

You design and order a specific boat to sail a specific route. After years and millions of pounds building it it takes over a month to find out how to sail it and do certain "tests" .

Can some expert on here confirm whether this is normal or expected for a ferry company?

No, it’s not. When Stena or Brittany Ferries introduced their e-flexers over the last 5 years, they arrived, were commissioned, and sailing within a couple of weeks of delivery from China.

On the other hand they don’t sail into small, constricted, silted up harbours with little room for either manoeuvre or error.

[Non-Believer]

28 minutes ago, John Wright said:

£1million dividend is 1.34% of freight and passenger and passenger services income. It’s not going to result in any meaningful reduction in passenger fares if not paid.

Do you think that the profits will be channelled into any reduction in passenger fares, John?

[Andy Onchan]

1 hour ago, Blade Runner said:

Too much wind, apparently according to the press.

Who would have thought that there was wind in the Irish Sea?

FFS, This is a clusterfuck of even more standing than the shed in Liverpool.

Look at the video that Amadeus posted on X showing the 2 ships.

Look at the side elevation of both ships, which looks like it will catch the wind worse than the other?

Answers on the back of a postcard/ email to AlfHomeAlone57@AOL.com

In a word.... thrusters! (as I've been told).

I guess they need to get some practice in before carrying passengers.

[John Wright]

12 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Do you think that the profits will be channelled into any reduction in passenger fares, John?

Why should they. Headline fares are set annually and increases limited by IoM Government by a formula. Cheap fares ( booked ahead and off peak ) are lower in real terms than the cut throat fares adopted by ManxLine in 1978/9/80 which ultimately bankrupted both companies, and fare cheaper than the Steam Packet midweek return fares of the time.

The purchase was sold to Keys and the public on the basis that the “goodwill” part of the purchase price would be paid out of 6 years profit. Then there’s the new boat loan, say £4million a year over 25 years ( including interest ). Then there’s going to be Manannan replacement costs come 2030.

It should make a profit, and pay a dividend.

I wonder whether we could see the Steam Packet shares transferred into the NI fund, and monetisation, by way of partial sell off, of social housing into a housing corporation with half the shares held by the NI fund and the money raised used to build additional social, first time buyers, and sheltered housing. I’d be all for that.

That being said, if I were running the Steam Packet, I’d ditch Mannanan, ditch Liverpool, keep Ben temporarily and look to order one, possibly two, of the small new CalMac ferries on order from Turkey. Small, flexible, able to serve Dublin, Belfast, Ardrossan, at a better frequency and time.