Beginning of the company There had been various shipping companies serving the
Isle of Man before the formation of this company in 1830, but their crossings were irregular and vessels used were unreliable. As a result, the island could be cut off for weeks at a time. The Manx people felt it was essential they should have their own dedicated service. A meeting was held in
Douglas in 1829, from which was formed a committee charged investigating the cost of acquiring a
steam packet. On 30 June 1830, the forerunner of today's Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was born when the brand new vessel, , built at a cost of £7,250, sailed from Douglas to
Liverpool on its very first sailing. From the inauguration of the service until January 1832, the company was known as the Mona's Isle Company. Briefly the company then traded as the Isle of Man United Steam Packet, before assuming its present name in July 1832. By the turn of the 20th century, the company was serving numerous ports in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Ports served included Liverpool,
Silloth,
Whitehaven,
Holyhead,
Ardrossan,
Blackpool,
Belfast and
Dublin.
War service Vessels and crews of the company were actively involved in both the
First and
Second World Wars. One vessel, , was attached to the
British Grand Fleet and led a section the
German High Seas Fleet into the Firth of Forth at the end of the First World War. Another vessel,
Viking, was converted to become a
seaplane carrier, serving as . During the First World War, eleven out of a total fleet of fifteen Steam Packet ships were requisitioned by the
Admiralty. Four of them were lost, three retained by the government and four returned to service. and the Midland Railways' (purchased by IOMSPC in 1920) also served as aircraft/seaplane carriers. In the Second World War, ten of the fleet of sixteen ships were commandeered for active duty, four of which were lost. The
Dunkirk evacuation was perhaps the company's finest hour, with
''Mona's Isle (IV)'' being the first to leave
Dover and the first to complete the round trip during the evacuation. Eight company ships took part in this mission, rescuing a total of 24,699 British troops – one in fourteen of those evacuated from Dunkirk. This was the company's blackest day, as three of the line's ships were lost: • , mined off Dunkirk on 29 May; • , sunk by air attack whilst berthed alongside Dunkirk's East Pier on 29 May; • , sustained heavy damage following several air attacks on 29 May, and sank off the beaches in the early hours of 30 May.
Post-war service Four side-loading
roll-on/roll-off car ferries were introduced, beginning with in 1962, and followed by (1966), (1972) and (1976).
''Mona's Isle (VI)'' was the Steam Packet Company's first stern loader in 1984–85. The 1980s were tough times for the company, with declining passenger numbers. Strong
competition from
Manx Line's brought them close to collapse. In February 1985, they announced a merger with
Sealink who had, by now, taken over
Manx Line. The main UK port switched from Liverpool to
Heysham, thus ending (albeit temporarily as it turned out) an association lasting back to the company's origins. In 1996, the Steam Packet Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of
Sea Containers headed by
James Sherwood, who had pioneered the fast-craft operation. In July 2003, the company was sold for £142 million to
Montagu Private Equity. In 2005, the company was purchased by
Macquarie Bank for £225 million. On 3 February 2007,
Sea Express 1 (formerly
SeaCat Isle of Man) collided with the cargo ship
Alaska Rainbow in heavy fog in the
River Mersey. None of the 294 passengers and crew was hurt, and the ferry was moored at
Liverpool Pier Head while water was being pumped from the engine room, a number of cars remained on board. She was later towed to the
Cammell Laird basin in
Birkenhead where all cars remaining aboard were offloaded. On 14 March 2007, the
Sea Express 1 was relaunched. In the meantime alternative service was provided by
Ben-my-Chree to Birkenhead during the weekends. In December 2007, the vessel was renamed to become the sixth
Snaefell. In June 2007, a new
CEO, Mark Woodward, was appointed to succeed Hamish Ross; he promised to improve the company's services, to return to the classic livery, and to promote the island's culture. As the first part of the rebranding, the
Sea Express 1 and
SuperSeaCat Two were renamed
Snaefell and
Viking respectively; the latter was later sold and operated for the Atlantico Line as
Hellenic Wind. The fleet received a brand new livery, replacing the old
SeaCo livery. All vessels of the fleet underwent complete internal refits which reflected the company's new colours and the rebranding of the company's on board lounges. The terminals received new signage and new uniforms were made for crew and shore staff. The company's first class lounge and members club were renamed:
1st Lounge became the
Premium Lounge and the
Blue Riband Club became the
Executive Club. The
Quiet Lounge was also renamed, becoming the
Niarbyl Reserved Lounge. On 26 March 2010, while embarking passengers and loading vehicles at Heysham, England, the ro-ro passenger ferry
Ben-my-Chree moved approximately along the quayside, causing serious damage to the passenger access structure. The foot-passenger walkway detached at both ends and collapsed onto the quayside, and the gangway detached from the vessel's side shell door and was left hanging on a single rope. There were no injuries. Eight passengers were trapped in the gangway compartment of the shore structure and were later rescued by the local fire service. On 1 November 2010, it was reported on the
Isle of Man Newspapers website, that the Steam Packet had lost two major freight customers to rival company Mezeron who had just set up a new freight service between Douglas and Liverpool a week or so earlier. In February 2011 Mezeron withdrew the service citing lack of growth in the market. Previously the Steam Packet Company had reported a loss of 15% of its total freight business to Mezeron. In April 2011, it was announced that the company had new owners
Banco Espírito Santo. In May 2018, it was confirmed that the
Isle of Man Government had agreed a deal worth £124 million to purchase 100% of MIOM Ltd, the parent company of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. The deal was approved by Tynwald on 16 May 2018. The company planned to use a 32-year-old vessel
Cometa. However the venture failed and nothing has been heard since. ==Current services==