The Steam Packet’s Ben-my-Chree vessel has hit the linkspan in Heysham harbour.

It happened while the vessel was berthing at lunchtime.

A Steam Packet spokesman said: ‘In winds gusting to 50 knots, the Ben was pushed onto a structure in the harbour and the hull was punctured, creating a small hole approximately four metres above the waterline.

"No one was injured and the ship later berthed safely alongside her normal berth."

He added: "Classification Society and Flag State surveyors are attending and it is anticipated that a temporary repair will be put in place allowing the Ben to resume sailing with effect from 1.45am tomorrow."

Today’s (Thursday) Heysham-Douglas sailing was cancelled and passengers were offered a transfer to other sailings.

The Steam Packet Company apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it was making every effort to resume normal services as soon as possible.

Passenger Derek Coombes told iomtoday he saw a tug trying to direct the Ben as a crosswind caused problems.

But he said it looked as though the wind was too strong for both the Ben and the tug.

He added: "No sign of anyone hurt, most people would not have realised there was a problem."

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