FERRY operator CalMac has said it is "disheartening" to hear of communities hit by the failings in the flagging ageing fleet - as islanders complained of empty food shelves in stores.

Western Isles council leaders have warned that a lack of resilience in the lifeline services are hitting the delivery of essentials to the islands.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the council covering the Western Isles has accused senior management of state-controlled CalMac of deciding to “hunker down” away from the islands and breaking a promise to engage with the local authority.

It comes as it emerged problems with the starboard main engine of the 21-year-old MV Hebrides has meant that the suspension of services to and from Uig on Skye will last till Sunday. Engineers were carrying out repairs on the vessel which can carry 612 passengers and 90 cars on Thursday and CalMac said they were continuing to investigate "contengency plans".

On Friday four lifeline services were suspended by 3pm partly due to weather and partly due to the MV Hebrides breakdown, after three on Thursday and eight the previous day.

A substantial amount of emergent steelwork has also been discovered on another of the fleet's elderly statesman, the 25-year-old MV Clansman in dry dock, and this has delayed her return by three weeks.

But the council said even when the weather was not bad, ferry breakdowns and delays to new ferries left island communities vulnerable.

The council's transport committee chairman, Uisdean Robertson, said it has left shops running short on essential food.

"We have been warning for some time that we should expect problems," he said.

"Bearing in mind issues with Covid and the weather, there are issues of technical problems and a lack of resilience within the CalMac fleet."

He added: "It has come to a head this week, particularly in Uist, when the Hebrides broke down and is currently being worked on in Lochmaddy.

"That has left shops running short on bread and milk, the essentials. We are just going from day to day at the moment in terms of how long it will take to repair the Hebrides."

Mr Robertson said delays to new ferries could mean problems continuing for another two to three years.

It came after issues with short cabling were expected to add further delay and increase costs over the already put back delivery of two green vessels at the centre of Scotland's ferry fiasco.

Some islanders have posted images of empty supermarket shelves.

The ferry destined to serve the Isle of Arran will be delayed even further after a “blunder” with internal cabling was discovered.

Both Glen Sannox (Hull 801) and Hull 802, being built at the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, rely on a “complex network” of more than 9800 cables.

The cost of both vessels has doubled to around £200m while their delivery is nearly five years late.

CalMac managing director Robbie Drummond, said: “CalMac and the communities we serve are experiencing a really challenging period just now. It is really disheartening to see customers and communities suffering because of the problems affecting their ferry service, and getting ferries working as they should be is our absolute priority.

“Some of our vessels need urgent repairs which are being prioritised by engineers and others are delayed in annual overhaul.

“A prolonged period of very poor weather has been prevalent across the network over the last few weeks. Operating on the edge of the North Atlantic basin means that we are exposed to some of the worst weather and sea conditions in the UK. Our masters are experienced in assessing weather conditions, and in some cases, they have reported conditions the likes of which we have not experienced for many years. At times, this has made sailings impossible – the safety of our customers and our seafaring crew must come first.

“Although the effect of Covid19 on staff has eased since December, it is still having an impact on some of our services.

“Together, these factors are creating a challenging picture for our customers and CalMac. It is very upsetting that some communities have been without a ferry service for several days and the impact this can have on lives and livelihoods is at the forefront of our minds and the decisions we need to make."

Outgoing turnaround director Tim Hair revealed that addressing the cables problem is a "time-consuming process" that will further delay the project to deliver the Glen Sannox which was due to serve on one of Scotland's busiest crossing, the Ardrossan to Arran service in May, 2018.

He said it will also further delay the completion of the second vessel known as Hull 802 which was also supposed to be sailing in July, 2018.

Mr Hair said that at present it is "not possible" to determine the impact on schedule and cost.

Mr Drummond said that said their team were "working hard" to reduce the impact felt by the network issues.

He hoped MV Hebrides would return to service on Monday.

“We are working closely with local communities to ensure their priorities are understood and supported. Our frontline staff are talking every day to regular customers to make sure that essential goods and services are being moved.

“We understand how much our customers and the communities we serve rely on these lifeline services and our utmost priority is getting ferries working as they should be at what is a really difficult time for our communities.”

Transport Scotland said Scottish ministers, and the board of David MacBrayne Limited, were listening to islanders.

A spokesman said: "Ministers recognise that a lack of confidence in ferry services can impact upon people's decision on whether to live and work on the islands, and impacts upon the sustainability of the island communities themselves.

"These human impacts are at the heart of Scottish ministers' commitment to supporting lifeline services through continued investment in ferry services across Scotland."