John H. Luxton 2005

Sea Britain - The Year of the Sea was how 2005 was billed coinciding with the bi-centenary of  Admiral Nelson's great victory at The Battle of Trafalgar. On a local level it just happened to be The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's 175th Anniversary.

It certainly looked as though it would be a year to celebrate and remember. There certainly were a lot of celebrations, and we have been left with a lot of memories.

This year the waters covered by Irish Sea Shipping have seen a number of new vessels appear and a number have also departed.

The year was marked by some notable firsts and lasts. The first BEN-MY-CHREE circumnavigation of the Isle of Man on July 23 and final circumnavigation of the island by LADY OF MANN on May 29 come to mind.

The departure of the LADY OF MANN was rather sudden if not entirely unexpected. During her TT service it was known buyers from Norway and Greece had been onboard to view the ship. However, it was not clear if she wouldn't resume service after the annual Açor Line charter as she still appeared in the autumn / winter schedules through the summer.

However, as she returned to Merseyside the company announced her sale to Greek interests.

Renamed PANAGIA SOUMELA and flying the Greek Flag she departed the Mersey for the very last time on October 22, 2005.

It wasn't so much the fact that the LADY was going that probably disappointed people most, as it was apparent that the company wanted rid of her given her age and that it was likely a large amount of money was going to have to be spent on her very soon. What has really concerned many observers was the lack of a suitable all weather replacement vessel.

Everyone knew that SUPERSEACAT TWO was an unsuitable vessel for use in the Irish Sea in winter. Sea Containers had realised her unsuitability after attempting to operate the same vessel over the winter of 1998/9 between Liverpool and Dublin.

Towards the end of the autumn the Steam Packet appeared to realise the unsuitability of SSC2 and announced that in the new year the Douglas - Liverpool route would be served by the BEN-MY-CHREE. However, the inability of Mersey Docks & Harbour Company, to repair the missing section of Prince's Landing Stage resulted in the plans to operate the first ever scheduled BEN-MY-CHREE sailings to Liverpool being scrapped.

The Liverpool and  Dublin route saw the first and last sailings of the former SEACAT ISLE OF MAN operating under charter as SEA EXPRESS 1 to Irish Sea Express. Irish Sea Express was a new operator which had resumed the Liverpool - Dublin service from the end of April.

There had been rumours that this service, abandoned by the Isle of Man Steam Packet, at the end of the 2004 season would recommence. However, things dragged on with the new service not being confirmed until February.

Ambitious plans to operate two round trips per day and possibly even start a service to Belfast were soon scaled back to weekends only when it was apparent that the overnight sailing from Dublin was proving unpopular. Further cutbacks saw the evening weekend service withdrawn and further adjustments to the timetable included the withdrawal of mid week service by early autumn.

However, the various changes, including an outline of next year's services which were to see morning departures from Dublin on alternative days, were to no avail and the service ended after operation on Saturday October 08. The company blaming the ever increasing costs of fuel for the failure of the service.

There was no official last sailing as SEA EXPRESS 1 had retreated to West Float, Birkenhead before the announcement of closure. Signs indicating the existence of Irish Sea Express had all disappeared from the Liverpool Sea Terminal within 48 hours of the announcement of closure.

However, this appears not to have been the case in Dublin where on December 28 several signs were still noted, including those fitted to a passenger gangway. Dublin Maritime staff also appeared to be wearing Irish Sea Express uniforms when handling SUPERSEACAT TWO on her Christmas sailings from Douglas!

During the Spring A&P Group withdrew from its Birkenhead operation passing the business on to rivals Northwestern Shiprepairers. Unfortunately, Reddington, landlords of the former Cammell Laird ship yard site, did not approve of the deal and NSL were evicted by the end of August. Things looked bleak for ship repair on the Mersey for both shipyard workers and ship photographers. The prospect of a winter without the usual refit movements was just too awful to contemplate. Happily NSL were allowed back into the former Cammell Laird site during the autumn on a temporary basis and it is to be hoped that a long term arrangement can be reached. As the year ended all four of the former Cammell Laird dry docks were busy. During December the A&P Logo was removed from the buildings.

The Mersey welcomed back and bade farewell to DAWN MERCHANT during the autumn. Following the conclusion of her charter to Norfolk Line DAWN MERCHANT returned to the Mersey on October 15, 2005. For a short period of time she operated with her sister between Birkenhead and Dublin before departing for a  Mediterranean charter as EUROPAX APPIA.

Whilst there have been some notable farewells this year the Mersey has welcomed two splendid new ships LAGAN VIKING and MERSEY VIKING. Whilst not everyone may find their appearance aesthetically pleasing with the almost vertical stem somewhat reminiscent of ships of the early 20th Century the commitment to enhance both passenger and freight accommodation on Irish Sea services out of the Mersey has to be welcomed.

NorseMerchant Ferries was one of two operators to find themselves with new owners during the latter half of 2005. NorseMerchant which had arisen from the ashes of its previous parent Cenargo was taken over by the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group for inclusion the in the Norfolkline operation.  A few weeks earlier the acquisition of the Isle of Man Steam Packet company by the Australian  Macquarie Bank had been announced. Rumours of the Macquarie acquisition from previous owners Montagu Private Equity had been doing the rounds for sometime before the official announcement was made.

The year ended with industrial strife at Irish Ferries which saw services halted between November 24 and December 14. This followed the company's decision to replace over 500 crew with agency workers.

Whilst very attractive redundancy offers were made, and accepted by a large number of employees, some decided to fight the changes. The catalyst being the deployment of what was claimed to be a paramilitary style security force on the ISLE OF INISHMORE as she arrived in Pembroke on November 24 which had travelled clandestinely from Rosslare. 

Eventually an agreement was reached with SIPTU and those staff who wished to remain securing much better terms and conditions as would new agency workers.

What 2006 will bring remains to be seen. There has been a lot of change during 2005 with shipping companies suffering from aviation competition for passengers and increasing fuel prices. Stena have already announced that the HSS STENA DISCOVERY service on the North Sea will be reviewed in 2006 in the light of high fuel prices. Whether this review will have an effect on Irish Sea HSS services remains to be seen, but these gas turbine vessels are very costly to run.

In the present economic climate it is clear that conventional ships offering plenty of freight accommodation must surely be the operators' choice and it is possible that 2006 could see even further reductions in high speed operations in these waters.

The final withdrawal of Sea Containers from the high speed passenger shipping market in the British Isles this autumn is surely an indication that the days of the high speed passenger only fast craft is surely numbered only all but the most heavily trafficked routes?

The has only been a brief summary of a few of the many events and news items  which have taken place during 2005. Browsing back through the news for last year is a fascinating experience when one realises just how many changes there have been. It will be interesting to see what 2006 will actually bring.

Finally I would like to thank all those who have supported the web site through the past year supplying information and or photographs or provided feedback on items featured.

I would like to wish all site visitors a very Happy New and Prosperous New Year!

John H. Luxton

December 31, 2005.

After 29 glorious years more lives than a SeaCat we finally said farewell to the final classic Steam Packet ship.

Irish Sea Express - tried to make a success of reopening the  Liverpool to Dublin high speed service  ........

LAGAN VIKING made her debut in July.

DAWN MERCHANT returned for a brief spell this autumn.

MERSEY VIKING joined her sister in December. Though someone appeared to forget to finish the hull paintwork!

PLYM II - first of a new generation of ferries across the Tamar entered service.

Star Cruises SUPERSTAR EXPRESS finally departed in August after 11 months lay up at Birkenhead.