Generations of people from Liverpool and the surrounding region have travelled to the Isle of Man via the Steam Packet ferries – now a big change may be coming for passengers. Tony McDonough reports
Each year around 300,000 people travel between Liverpool and the Isle of Man on Steam Packet ferries – and now they may soon experience a big change.
For decades British citizens travelling on the route have been able to board the vessels and enter the Isle of Man without having to show a passport or other official ID.
This is because the Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency and part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) with the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. There are no routine immigration controls for British or Irish citizens travelling within the CTA.
However, the Manx Government, which owns the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, is keen to have more control over who is coming on to the island and help strengthen its defences against organised crime.
Although it will not be passing legislation for mandatory passports or other forms of official ID for entry onto the island itself, it is proposing that Steam Packet must have some form of photo ID when they board the vessel. Airlines flying into the Isle of Man already have this requirement.
Currently Steam Packet does recommend people carry ID as they may be asked to verify their identity once on board the vessel, but it isn’t yet mandatory.
This proposal forms part of the island’s Securing Our Island Strategy which was first published in 2024. In July the Manx Government published the results of a public consultation among people living on the Isle of Man.
1,419 responses were received during the seven-week consultation. More than three-quarters of respondents believed the measures would directly help to reduce crime.
There was strong support for passports, driving licences and other government-issued photographic identification as acceptable forms of ID. The strongest themes for exemptions were for children/minors and emergency or medical travel.
Main concerns raised were about delays and queueing, as well as operational concerns such as staff training, with clear requests for any implementation plans to include early communication and a phased introduction or ‘grace period’.
“Taking steps to verify the identity of travellers, including at the point of travel, would make it harder for criminals or their assets to move to and from the Island,” the Manx Government said.
“It was one of the commitments set out in the strategy, which has three main aims to improve safety – ‘prevent, protect, pursue’.
“The current proposal is to require all passengers to carry valid photo ID, with proportionate verification checks by staff. The consultation focused on whether there should be any exemptions to this and what forms of ID should be accepted.
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“Introducing proportionate ID checks will help strengthen the Island’s defences against organised crime by making it harder to travel anonymously or under false details, improve passenger data accuracy, and align with security practices found elsewhere in the CTA.
The Department of Home Affairs will now use the results to inform its conversations with Steam Packet on the next steps, including the development of clear guidance on how ID verification will work and acceptable forms of identification.