The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (SPC) is the oldest continually operating passenger shipping company in the world, having began operations in 1830. Today the company operates regular ferry (and fast ferry) services which connect the Isle of Man to Heysham, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin. Those who reminisce about the past are often surprised to learn that SPC have more passenger sailings now than at any time in the past 50 years. Steam Packet offers the latest fast craft ferry services. The first SeaCat Isle of Man crossing was from Fleetwood on June 28th, 1994 (taking just 94 minutes). There are services to Liverpool, Dublin and Belfast with crossing times of 2 hours 45 minutes to Liverpool and just slightly longer to Ireland. Friday 22nd of May 2009 saw the first sailing of the latest addition to the fleet, Manannan. The 96-metre catamaran, the largest of her type on the Irish Sea, had undergone a complete refurbishment. The extensive work included the construction of completely new aft accommodation and a much enlarged sky lounge on the top deck, both of which have contributed to the vessel’s increased seating capacity of more than 800 passengers. For a more leisurely cruise across the Irish Sea, SPC offers the Ben-my-Chree which operates a twice daily conventional ferry service between Heysham and Douglas.

Steam Packet carries around 600,000 passengers annually and 170,000 cars and motorcycles. This represents an increase in passenger traffic of around 35% and 50% in vehicle traffic since 1996 not a bad performance given the increased competition from airlines servicing the Isle of Man. Around 80% of the passengers now benefit from special offer fares with most of our customers now choosing to book online via this website for the best fares.

Mit Steam Packet führt der "Celtic Way" über die Isle of Man mitten in die Irische See zu einer einmaligen Destination. Sie ist ein Umschlagplatz und Sprungbrett zwischen Großbritannien, Nordirland und Irland.