http://vid.io/xcmG
Drone Footage of Douglas and the Harbour - Isle of Man.
The aim is to show there is far more to this island than the TT Races, I love to explore using my Drone and my Motorcycles. My Drone footage even shows me places to re-visit when I view them on the computer screen. Buildings, Valleys, Rivers, Streams, Caves, rock faces that I simply would not know existed until I review this footage. My aim is for you the viewer to also watch these videos and see places that spark that lightbulb moment, they even may make you want to buy a drone and fly the same locations and get closer to those places that I have not yet returned to.
Ben-my-Chree was ordered in 1997 by Sea Containers for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Costing around £24 million, she was built by van der Giessen de Noord of the Netherlands and launched on 4 April 1998. The sixth vessel to carry the name, she is registered in Douglas, Isle of Man.
Brought around to the island from the Netherlands by the late Captain Vernon Kinley, Ben-my-Chree entered service on 5 July 1998, Tynwald Day - the Isle of Man's national holiday. At a gross tonnage of around 12,000, she was the largest ship to enter service with the company. The vessel received a lot of criticism due to her low passenger capacity of 500 (carrying no more than 350 per sailing), and the fact she had no open deck for passengers. The company insisted this was a "comfort level" for the vessel's size.
In 2004 the vessel underwent a refit carried out by Cammell Laird to increase passenger capacity with the addition of a new passenger module. In 2014 Ben-my-Chree underwent a £1.6 million refit which included new LED lighting fitted to the lounge areas, refitted the crew rest area. also carried out by Cammell Laird
Incidents
On 25 July 2008, Ben-my-Chree suffered a technical failure, with the Viking taking her Heysham sailing until she was repaired.
On the evening of 1 May 2013 when arriving in Douglas Harbour from Heysham, Ben-my-Chree struck part of the King Edward Pier Linkspan, Number 5 berth. In the collision part of the ship was slightly damaged, meaning the evening departure to Heysham was delayed. Passengers had to wait around two hours for the arrival of "Manannan" from Liverpool to be transported to Heysham, arriving there only about thirty minutes late.Ben-my-Chree re-entered service the following day with a freight-only service to Heysham and was back in full service at 19.45 the same day.[7]
In December 2011 the Ben-my-Chree suffered a number of cancelled sailings due to high winds and a problem with a bow thruster that had been damaged in May that year. Arrangements to dry dock the ship in June and then in September had to be cancelled after the manufacturers, Wartsilla, failed to complete the necessary repairs.[8] Chief executive of the Steam Packet Company wrote to the local newspaper, the Manx Independent to express the company's frustration at the ongoing problems.
On 12 February 2015, Ben-my-Chree lost control and collided with fishing boat, while entering Douglas Harbour. The vessel's stern made contact with Battery Pier and a fishing boat at its mooring. It was found that the ship and the fishing boat only suffered superficial damage. The ship was checked by divers for signs of damage to the propellers and steering.It was then relocated to Victoria Pier using a tug boat - where passengers disembarked.
On 2 May 2015, the morning sailing from Douglas to Heysham was cancelled and the afternoon return. Ben-my-Chree was suffering from a "bow thruster... only operating on reduced power".
On 16 May 2015 there was a suspected chimney stack lagging fire was detected on the 8.45am crossing from Douglas to Heysham. The sailing arrived in Heysham Port around 1 hour late and no passengers or crew were injured.
On 12 February 2017, the vessel made contact with the pier at Douglas whilst attempting to moor in high winds on arrival from Birkenhead (Liverpool). MS Arrow and HSC Manannan were planned to take over the freight and passenger duties.
