Pictures of TT fans shut out of the Sea Terminal and sleeping in its doorway to wait for their boat have outraged locals with many posting angry comments on Facebook.
Images on the social networking site showed fans lying outside after the Sea Terminal closed.
The terminal is owned, operated and managed by the Department of Infrastructure.
A DoI spokesperson said: ‘The Sea Terminal building closed at midnight on Sunday after the 23.45pm sailing to Liverpool, as the next scheduled passenger departure was at 7.30am.
‘The building only remains open during the TT period if there is an overnight arrival or departure.’
‘We are aware that a handful of people wanted to sleep in the building overnight to avoid paying for the cost of a campsite or for a hotel. These people were asked to leave the building as the department’s staff were finishing their shift.
‘The department cannot allow the Sea Terminal to be used for overnight accommodation purposes; it would be irresponsible to open the building without staff being on site, leaving a public facility at risk of damage with a liability towards anyone in the building.
‘By Sunday evening there would have been no shortage of hotel, homestay or camp site accommodation in Douglas.’
A spokesman for the Steam Packet Company also responded to the critics, saying: ‘In the coming months we will discuss whether there is a need to consider greater flexibility in the opening hours during periods of peak demand, or if alternative waiting areas can be identified.’