- The Ben-my-Chree vessel to run up to five sailings a week to Dublin in peak season
- New Larne link gives three weekly crossings to Northern Ireland in winter
- First regular three-vessel Steam Packet timetable outside TT in more than 15 years
- Boss warns new routes are ‘use it or lose it’ during two-year trial
Regular ferry links between the Isle of Man and Ireland are set to expand from 2026, Expose News can report.
This week the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company announced a new three-vessel timetable that puts veteran ferry Ben-my-Chree back into frontline service on routes to Dublin and Larne.
Under the 2026–27 schedule, Ben-my-Chree will operate an enhanced Ireland service.
Five sailings a week in peak season and a regular off-season link of three sailings a week to Larne in Northern Ireland have been scheduled, according to coverage in Isle of Man Today and Manx.News.
The move means the company will run a regular three-ship operation outside TT for the first time in more than 15 years.
Ben-my-Chree, which came into service in the late nineties, will focus on Ireland.
While fast craft Manannan and flagship Manxman are freed up to boost capacity on the core routes to Liverpool and Heysham.
Manx Radio reports that extra daytime Liverpool sailings are planned through the summer, with the Manxman concentrating on Heysham at peak times.
The new Ireland timetable follows trial sailings to Larne earlier this year, used to test the practicality of a Northern Ireland route before committing to a full schedule.
Isle of Man Today notes that the Larne connection is intended to support both passenger travel and freight.
Not least because fresh commercial links between Douglas and Northern Ireland will run alongside the existing seasonal Dublin sailings.
As well as reshaping routes, Steam Packet is promising to upgrade the roll-on, roll off 13,000 tonner itself.
Both Manx.Radio and Manx.News report that Ben-my-Chree will undergo a substantial interior refurbishment to modernise public areas and improve facilities for passengers using the Ireland services, bringing her in line with recent lounge upgrades on Manannan and Manxman.
Managing director Brian Thomson says the expanded Ireland timetable is part of a wider push to grow sea travel and the island’s connectivity, pointing to strong passenger numbers since the introduction of discounted ‘Flexi’ fares and Kids Go Free offers in 2024.
Those initiatives are being extended alongside the new schedule.
However, he has warned that the services must pay their way, describing the new routes as a two-year commitment and telling passengers it is a case of ‘use it or lose it’.
The full 2026–27 timetable goes on sale from 21 November and runs until late May 2027.
Bookings and detailed sailing times for the Douglas–Dublin and Douglas–Larne routes will be available via the company’s website, steam-packet.com.
History of the IoM – Ireland Ferries
Regular ferries between the Isle of Man and Ireland grew out of 19th-century Irish Sea steamship ventures.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, founded in 1830 and now regarded as the world’s oldest continually operating passenger ferry company, gradually expanded from English and Scottish ports to serve Ireland.
In the late 1800s, short-lived rivals such as the Peel and North of Ireland Steamship Company tried seasonal Peel–Belfast services, but bad weather and breakdowns meant they survived only a single Isle of Man season in 1889.
Early 20th-century postcards show passengers ‘running to catch the Belfast steamer’ at Peel, underlining how important the Irish link already was by around 1910, according to the iMuseum.
Excursion sailings to Dublin and Belfast paused during wartime but returned in the early 1950s, when Steam Packet resumed Dublin services and developed a full summer schedule.
The advent of car ferries in the 1960s and fast catamarans from the 1990s modernised the routes, cutting journey times and allowing roll-on, roll-off vehicles.
Today, the Manxman and high-speed Manannan link Douglas with Dublin and Belfast on seasonal schedules, keeping alive nearly two centuries of maritime connection between the Isle of Man and Ireland.
