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Construction of Manxman Begins in South Korea for Isle of Man Steam Packet

21st August 2021
Construction has commenced on Manxman, the new flagship ferry for the Isle of Man Steam Packet. Key stakeholders were in attendance at the steel-cutting ceremony in Ulsan, South Korea where a formal pushing of the button took place to mark the first piece of steel to be cut. Construction has commenced on Manxman, the new flagship ferry for the Isle of Man Steam Packet. Key stakeholders were in attendance at the steel-cutting ceremony in Ulsan, South Korea where a formal pushing of the button took place to mark the first piece of steel to be cut. Credit: IOM Steam Packet -twitter

Construction of Manxman has begun at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea with the vessel to become the new flagship ferry for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. 

The first steel cut for the 133m-long Manxman took place yesterday at the Asian shipyard contracted to build the ferry which is due to replace Ben-my-Chree when the ro-pax enters service in 2023.

The new ferry will be able to carry 949 passengers and 495m2 of additional space for freight and vehicles.

Attending the steel cutting ceremony in Ulsan were officials from the Steam Packet Co, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Sea Quest Marine Project Management (specialist shipbuilding consultants), Houlder Naval Architects and Lloyds Register (Class Surveyor).

At the milestone event to cut the steel involved a formal pushing of the button to mark the first piece of steel being cut. The event signified the detail design of the vessel comprising a total of around 300 detailed plans. This was finalised and agreed by the Steam Packet's Project Team for construction to commence.

Plasma files are produced from the approved construction drawings to allow the shipyard’s plate cutting machines to automatically and accurately cut each piece of the vessel. There will be up to two months of plate cutting, panel production, plate bending and pipe production before block construction, and then keel laying, can commence.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Managing Director Brian Thomson said: ‘The steel cutting ceremony is a milestone occasion and cause for celebration which signifies that after years of planning, the construction of Manxman is under way. The Project Team has been working incredibly hard to ensure the project stays on track and it’s fantastic to see everything progressing as scheduled.

‘This is a very exciting time for the Company and we’re looking forward to keeping the Island community up-to-date with the progress of Manxman ahead of her coming into service, scheduled for spring 2023.’

Published in Shipyards
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.