Ferry sailings continue to be disrupted due to storm damage at Heysham harbour.
Sailing schedules have had to be revised after a large piece of timber broke free in recent storms and become embedded on the sea bed at the entrance to the port.
The port authorities are trying to deal with this but have warned the Steam Packet and other port users that they cannot attempt to remove the obstruction before Sunday at the earliest.
It meant last night’s sailing of the Ben-my-Chree to Heysham was delayed as was the overnight return crossing to Douglas, with knock-on effects on today’s Birkenhead services.
Steam Packet chief executive officer Mark Woodward said ‘As a result of this problem, which is outside of our control, the Ben-my-Chree schedules will be affected.
‘We will only be able to approach and leave the port at higher states of tide; there will also be a knock-on effect to the weekend daytime Birkenhead sailings.
‘Passengers on the affected sailings will be contacted by our customer services team. We will also keep passengers advised if any further changes are required’.