Apologies as three CalMac ferries are sidelined in new 'calamity'

It is berthed in Greenock for repairs to a bow visor.

The development has caused disruption to services to and from the beleaguered island of South Uist.

One of the oldest vessels in CalMac's ageing fleet, the 37-year-old MV Isle of Mull has been drafted in to operate an emergency combined two-island timetable till Friday to and from Barra and Lochboisdale, the main port on South Uist. It had already been shifted from the Mull service to operate to and from South Uist until May 10 due to network issues.

Scottish Government-owned CalMac has told users that preparation of a full and permanent repair plan is underway and once completed they will be able to define an estimated repair duration.

MV Isle of Lewis joins MV Loch Shira and MV Caledonian Isles on the sidelines as delays to the ferry operator's annual overhaul programme has resulted in disruption across the Clyde and Hebrides network.

CalMac had been carrying out trials using MV Isle of Mull to and from Uig, part of the Skye Triangle route, serving Uist and Harris. But they discovered that the vessels would not be able to deliver a regular timetabled service there.

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A major protest was launched on South Uist last summer when it once again became the victim of cuts when ferry breakdowns and delays in annual maintenance meant that islanders lost their service for nearly the whole of June.

It had been drawing the short straw, because it was felt according to the way CalMac runs its lifeline service disruption management, that the least number of people will be affected if their allocated vessel, MV Lord of the Isles, is withdrawn to help out elsewhere.

An estimated 500 residents, 200 cars, 40 vans and 20 lorries converged on Lochboisdale – the port which links South Uist to the mainland – on June 4 to protest about the cancellations.

A ferry user group official said: "There is never a right time for these problems, but the latest calamity causes more pain for the islands as we enter the potentially lucrative summer season.

"With the continuing question marks over when we will see the two much needed ferries being built at Ferguson Marine, there has to be a clear plan of action, with the necessary back up to ensure that we don't suffer as we are continuing to do with no sign that the Scottish Government would ever provide business, for instance, with any compensation."

CalMac was forced to remove MV Loch Shira from one of its busiest routes on April 5 due to it being damaged by heavy vehicles and was expected to be sidelined for months.

The vessel, which usually operates on the Largs to Cumbrae route, entered dry docks for repairs and is not expected back until mid-June at the earliest.

The MV Loch Riddon had been operating a single vessel service leaving customers facing an increase in waiting times.

CalMac had redeployed the oldest ferry in its fleet – MV Isle of Cumbrae – as the supporting second vessel on the route until another vessel was able to take over.

The ferry operator has warned users that until further notice due to smaller vessels operating on the route, vehicle capacity has been slashed and queues are to be expected.

It comes as 31-year-old MV Caledonian Isles, which serves on the Arran route, one of the busiest on the Scottish coast, has been out of action since going for an overhaul at the start of January and there is no timetable yet for its return.Caledonian Isles has suffered issues in overhaul for the third year running.

It was sidelined for over three months with further steelwork and engine difficulties this time last year.

When it went for an annual overhaul in early January 2023, it was due to return to service on February 2 but that was delayed for, again, additional steel work and engine repairs being required.

CalMac initially announced a provisional return date of February 28 but this was later pushed back to March 31 and then pushed back further to mid-April.

Further steelwork problems were attributed to a further period spent in the yard in early 2022.

The vessel was found to have had major technical problems during overhaul again this year, having been due to return on January 23.

Users have been told that the vessels have needed steelwork, which has led to rust concerns.

MV Caledonian Isles was moved to the Cammell Laird yard facility in Liverpool for repairs and there had been a race against time to get it available in time for the summer timetable to kick in on March 29.

But CalMac then found that repairs to the vessel came with an estimated cost of around £5m.

A CalMac spokeswoman said: “MV Isle of Lewis was removed from service on Sunday morning after issues with the bow visor were discovered. Following investigations, damage to the port lower cleat bracket has been identified, and the vessel is currently at the James Watt Dock in Greenock Dock awaiting repairs.

“MV Isle of Mull is currently operating a combined service between Castlebay, Lochboisdale and Oban, with all bookings from today onwards having been moved to other sailings. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused to customers who may have had their bookings moved.

“Preparation of a full and permanent repair plan is underway and once completed we will be able to define an estimated repair duration, but we expect to have the vessel back in service by this weekend."

It comes as CalMac's spend on unplanned maintenance of the ageing ferry fleet has more than trebled in five-and-a-half years.

Details from the state-owned ferry operator shows that over the period some £16m has had to be spent on the unexpected repairs.

While an average of £147,377-a-month was being spent on the CalMac fleet nearly six years ago the bill has risen to £481,310 now.

Concerns have been raised that some £3,850,483 was spent on unplanned ferry maintenance in the first eight months of 2023/24 - already the highest since CalMac began tracking the spend.

It represents a rise of more than £800,000 on the bill for the whole of 2022/23.

Meanwhile, new ferries Glen Sannox and sister ship Glen Rosa, which were due online in the first half of 2018, with both now due to serve Arran, are at least six years late, with costs expected to be quadruple the original £97m contract.

Since the SNP came to power in 2007, the average of Scotland's lifeline vessels has soared from 17 years to over 25 years. Back in 1974 the typical ferry was just 13 years old.

Three years ago, on May 16, 2021, we revealed that more than half of Scotland's lifeline ferry network was operating outwith its working life expectancy of 25 years.

Since 2010 only five vessels have been launched to support the CalMac network, and only two are considered as major ferries. They are the 5626 tonne MV Finlaggan, built in Poland in 2011 and the 9058 tonne MV Loch Seaforth built in Germany and launched in 2014.

Before 2010, vessels were being produced at a rate of one every 14 months. Afterwards ferries were typically being produced every 33.6 months.