Mrs Comish said she thought she was going to die

Pam Comish, who is from Maghull but lives on the Isle of Man, said she was terrified and thought she was going to die when the ferry crashed.

None of the 294 passengers and crew were seriously injured when the Sea Express One collided with the Alaska Rainbow in thick fog on Saturday.

The Steam Packet Company has suspended sailings between Liverpool and Douglas.

The company said it has no suitable ship to operate the weekend service and has suspended the route until it can find a replacement.

All the 45 cars were unloaded on Monday

Mrs Comish said: "My first reaction was, I'm going to die.

"The first thing I did was send a text to my husband, but then I thought that's a stupid thing to do as that'll be the last contact I'd have with him, so I phoned him up," she added.

The vessels collided near the Alfred Dock in Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime.

The passengers were taken to safety but the 45 vehicles on board were not unloaded until Monday afternoon, when the ferry had been made stable.

Owners were contacted and the vehicles were to be collected from the landing stage in Liverpool on Tuesday.

The Sea Express One is to stay in the wet dock before being moved to a dry dock for repair.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is now looking into the cause of the collision.