The elderly Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMSP), the island’s main lifeline with the UK, is enjoying a renewed lease on life. It has a new chairman and chief executive, a new brand identity, and is about to take delivery of a new flagship which will be the fastest vessel in its 177-year history.

The Steam Packet, which prides itself on being the world’s oldest continually-operating passenger shipping company, runs two fast catamarans and a conventional roll-on roll-off freight/passenger ferry, which link the island with Liverpool and Heysham on the North West coast, and Belfast and Dublin in Northern Ireland and the Republic, respectively.