Manxman’s Coming Home

The Steam Packet’s new flagship vessel Manxman has left South Korea, bound for her eventual arrival in Manx waters.

Manxman and her crew will have a few stops on the way.

The Steam Packet said: ‘Captain Andy Atkinson will now set course for the first port of call in Singapore. Captain Atkinson, Chief Engineer Dean Ellis and the crew will have about six days at sea on this leg. Fair winds and following seas all!’

Captain Andy added: ‘We’ve been working on the ground in South Korea since almost the first block of the vessel started taking form. The team has seen this monumental project literally take shape, and we’ve been intimately involved in making sure this is the ship that the Company commissioned, right down to the tiniest details.’

‘To be taking charge of Manxman on behalf of the company as we start the long voyage ‘home’ is a huge honour. I know every member of crew on board feels it too. We’re looking forward to getting to know the ship at sea and really finding out what it is capable of.’

The voyage to the UK will see Manxman steam over 10,000 sea miles, visiting six or more ports on the way, with Singapore up first.

The outline itinerary calls for further port visits at Colombo, Sri Lanka and Muscat, the capital of Oman. A further stop may be made at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as the vessel makes its way up the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal. After transiting the Canal, Manxman will cross the Mediterranean to Gibraltar, its last stop before reaching the South Coast of England towards the end of June.

Manxman’s expected to spend up to a week in port for final fittings, including the children’s play area, before making its way around Land’s End and heading into the Irish Sea to finally reach her home port of Douglas.

You will be able to track Manxman’s progress via the dedicated blog at steam-packet.com/blog/manxman-voyage