Gales continue to disrupt sailings
7th December, 2011
Severe gales gusting to Force 9 in the Irish Sea have severely affected IOM Steam Packet sailings to and from Heysham. Both round trip sailings on Tuesday 6th December were cancelled and Wednesday 7th daytime sailings have also been cancelled. A lull in the weather may permit Wednesday evenings sailings to take place but Thursdays prediction is for more gales up to Force 10.
This unusual combination of continuous gales from the same westerly direction and the Ben my Chrees bow thruster problems mean the vessel is unable to safely maneouvre in Heysham harbour and there has been an unprecedented number of sailings cancelled.
As of Tuesday 6th December our freight shipments were running only 24 hours behind schedule with all our staff working long hours to provide the service our clients expect from us. We would take this opportunity to advise all of our customers that we are working through the backlog in date order and prioritising deliveries of perishable and vital goods.
(pictured above a typical bow thrust installation)
