Steam Packet Company ferries

Steam Packet Company

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world. Its first ship, the paddle steamer Mona's Isle, made the inaugural crossing from Douglas to Liverpool on 17 August 1830 with 15 saloon and 17 steerage passengers on board.

The company's history is bound up with the island's. During the Second World War eight Steam Packet vessels took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, and Mona's Isle was the first to leave Dover and the first to complete the round trip. In May 2018 the Isle of Man Government agreed to buy the company, and the Steam Packet is now publicly owned, though it is run at arm's length.

Today the ferry Manxman, built in South Korea and delivered in May 2023, serves the year-round Douglas–Heysham route, while the fast craft Manannan sails seasonally to Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin in just under three hours. In TT fortnight the company carries around 35,000 passengers and some 10,500 motorbikes on more than 200 sailings.