Politics
Dolphins, a Manxman and Solid Rock
Work, including new dolphins, will be finished by next winter,
Far less work is needed to protect Douglas’ harbour from the bow thrusters on the new Manxman than in Liverpool.
Work on improving the King Edward VIII (that one from The Crown who abdicated) is due to be completed in time for next winter and is needed for the new boat Manxman.
Providing an update on the scheme this week, DoI Minister Chris Thomas outlined the work needed to improve Douglas harbour, including ‘both essential maintenance work and work to make it more suitable for the Steam Packet’s new vessel the Manxman during high winds’.
This work, which has received planning approval, includes a new remote mooring dolphin, fender protection, mooring bollards and marine works are due to begin in September 2023.
Mr Thomas was asked by MLC Marlene Maska whether the works would be sufficient for the new vessel, especially given the millions of taxpayer money being spent on scouring protection in Liverpool for the white elephant, sorry, Princes Half-Tide Dock.
The Minister said: ‘The work will be substantial enough to withstand every eventually in the coming decades. In terms of the comparison with Liverpool… in essence, the Isle of Man situation is based on a substantial structure already, lots is known about, it’s built on good solid Manx rock, the boat is at quite a distance from the pier.
‘In Liverpool, all those things are the opposite there. We’ve got wimpy Liverpool sandstone, not solid Manx rock, we’ve got the vessel being closer to the pier and the direction of the thrusters and all those sorts of things are at a different angle, therefore there is a substantial difference between those.’
