Newbuild Isle of Man Flagship Ferry Set to Depart South Korea after Passing Sea trials with 'Flying Colours'

25th April 2023

Following successful completion of further sea trials, the Manxman’s official handover to the Isle of Man Steam will take place at the shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, on 10th May. Two days later, the flagship ferry is due to depart on the delivery voyage to the UK taking approximately 30 days, however there will be a call firstly to the south coast of England for final fit-out, prior to entering service on the Irish Sea. Credit: .isleofmansteampacket -facebook

The newbuild for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co's main Douglas-Heysham route, the Manxman will be officially handed over on the 10th May.

The Steam-Packet said its new flagship ferry has passed its sea trials with 'flying colours'.

The newbuild completed by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, had earlier in the year a significant gearbox fault which delayed delivery. Further work was undertaken to install a new gearbox and this was followed with the resumption of sea trials.

During these trials, Manxman was subject to numerous tests over a 10-day period which checked its handling, manoeuvrability, fuel consumption and speed.

On board there were 150 people when the Manxman was in the waters of the Korea Strait - between the South Korean mainland and the Japanese island of Tsushima.

The ferry can accommodate up to 1,000 passengers and has 10% more space for vehicles and freight than its predecessor the 1998 built Ben-my-Chree which was also custom-built for the Steam-Packet.

More from ManxRadio on the progress of the newbuild.

Published in Shipyards

Tagged under

About The Author

Jehan Ashmore

Email The Author

Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.