A ferry which was due to return to full service following repairs has seen more sailings cancelled amid an "emergent issue" with its radar system.
The MV Lord of the Isles linking Mallaig and Lochboisdale on South Uist was originally undergoing repairs on its steelwork.
However, CalMac has confirmed some sailings will still be limited over the course of Saturday with the radar issues restricting its operation in hours of darkness.
Frustrated businesses told BBC's Good Morning Scotland of losing income due to short-notice cancellations.
Calum MacAuley, owner of the Lochboisdale Hotel, told BBC Radio: "This is the fourth time this year that we have lost the Lord of the Isles.
"That makes it extremely difficult for anyone, whether you are travelling from the islands to the mainland or from the mainland to the islands, it is now a serious problem."
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He emphasised that the issue has been ongoing for years, with South Uist residents often seeing ferry redirected to support other routes.
"But it's not something that just happened," he said.
"We have been facing this problem for years now. It is very difficult for CalMac in the situation they are in now, they are being asked to do a job without being given the tools to do the job.
"They are desperately short of proper new ferries but at the end of the day we are the people who suffer."
"But what really is irritating for us is the fact that the Lord of the Isles can at very, very short notice be pulled off our route to support another route, which means that basically, every other route has took priority over us."
The hotel owner said that this has seen him lose room bookings, costing the business up to £3000, and affecting their ability to maintain employees.
"It has become progressively a very unreliable service," he added.
A statement from CalMAc confirmed that the vessel will operate a service between Lochboisdale and Mallaig on Sunday.
It added: "We are urgently working on a repair plan and a further update regarding Sunday’s timetable will be provided on Saturday afternoon."
A CalMac spokeswoman said: “We apologise for the cancellation of the Lochboisdale service due to corroded steel being discovered on MV Lord of the Isles.
“The area where the defect was identified was not part of the planned and scheduled survey area during this year’s annual overhaul programme.
“Due to available capacity on services in and out of Lochmaddy, traffic has been redirected from Lochboisdale during this disruption.
“The vessel was taken to Kennacraig where the works carried out on her steelwork have been completed, however due to an emergent issue with her radar system which restricts the vessel’s operation in hours of darkness, Saturday’s sailings have been cancelled.
“Impacted traffic continues to be redirected to the Lochmaddy – Uig route which has available capacity on both Saturday departures.
“MV Lord of the Isles will operate an amended timetable from Lochboisdale – Mallaig on Sunday and Monday.
“We are extremely sorry for the disruption to customers caused by the loss of MV Lord of the Isles, and the impact this has on the local communities we serve.”
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