After being suspended for a few days Mersey Ferries has announced that its commuter services and river cruises are to resume. Tony McDonough reports

Mersey Ferries will resume ts cross river commuter services and River Explorer cruises on Thursday after suspending them earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Mersey Ferries announced on its Twitter account that services would be suspended until further notice. This was due to a “short delay” to passenger licensing approvals.

It meant that it could not have both of its vessels – Royal Iris and Snowdrop in service. It therefore prioritised its Manchester Ship Canal cruises for which people had bought advanced tickets.

Commuter services currently run between the Pier Head and Seacombe each weekday during the morning and evening rush hours. A replacement bus service is currently in operation between  Seacombe Ferry Terminal and Hamilton Square station.

Between the rush hours Mersey Ferries usually operates an hourly river cruise which departs from the Pier Head and calls at Seacombe. Woodside terminal in Birkenhead is currently closed due to refurbishment works.

Both commuter services and the cruises will resume on Thursday. Mersey Ferries said: “Services will resume tomorrow as usual. Thank you for your ongoing support and patience as we worked to resolve the operational issues affecting services.”

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Mersey Ferries is run by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. It has tasked Birkenhead shipbuilder Cammell Laird with building a new ferry at a cost of £26m.

This will mean one of the existing vessels will be taken out of service although the CA has yet to decide which one.