FIVE CalMac lifeline ferries were out of service on Monday in a new wave of faults which has caused disruption to state-controlled services.

Services to and from Barra, South Uist, Mull, Islay and Dunoon have been disrupted with MV Isle of Lewis, MV Lord of the Isles, MV Finlaggan, MV Loch Linnhe and Argyll Flyer all taken out of action after a series of problems from Sunday night.

Scottish Government-owned ferry operator CalMac apologised for the disruption and said essential deliveries such as food and medical supplies have been prioritised.

Services to and from Barra and South Uist have been suspended since Sunday night and through Monday after technical problems with 33-year-old MV Lord of the Isles.

South Uist, which has been hit by a series of disruption because of ferry failures had only just had a service returned on Saturday after its main port Lochboisdale was out of action for 15 days to allow for repairs over safety concerns.

There was further disruption to the Gourock to Dunoon service, which was reduced to a one vessel service because the 11-year-old passenger ferry Argyll Flyer was taken out of action due to a technical issue.

And there will be further disruption on Tuesday to an alternative ferry route to North Uist due to works on the pier.

The problems began when one of 12-year-old MV Finlaggan's main engines meant it had to be withdrawn from service on Sunday night.

The same evening state-controlled CalMac found that an area of steelwork on MV Lord of the Isles needed to be repaired and replaced and the vessel was removed from service.

Services to and from Barra and South Uist service were suspended and users were told that a decision on Tuesday services would be made late Monday afternoon.

Issues were exacerbated when a problem with 27-year-old MV Isle of Lewis's bow thruster which emerged on Saturday meant that it was to be withdrawn to undergo repairs.

CalMac said that they had explored options for redeploying vessels from elsewhere in the network but were hampered by "forecast weather and sea conditions".

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Customers wanting to get to and from South Uist were told on Sunday night that they should rebook on sailings on Tuesday as space was available.

On Monday morning, some services were being operated by MV Hebridean Isles.

Meanwhile there were morning cancellations to and from Tobermory on Mull to allow an investigation into a technical issue with 36-year-old MV Loch Linnhe. It was later resolved.

After repairs to MV Finlaggan and sea trials, MV Finlaggan was back in service just before 2pm on Monday.

But services to Barra and South Uist continued to be hit with MV Lord of the Isles remaining out of action.

One island ferry user group official said the latest disruptions shows that much more needs to be done to source ferries to support the network.

"Things just seem to go from bad to worse and this chaos just cannot continue," he said. "Islands are in a quandry, if they speak out it can affect people's confidence in visiting and there is a dependence on tourism. "But if we say nothing, this farcical situation will never ever resolve itself.

"Our ferry services are truly shameful and this situation just cannot go on."

Lochboisdale, the port which links South Uist to the mainland had been out of action to ferries between September 24 and October 8 to allow for repairs to the linkspan used by the ferry.

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South Uist was told that it while losing services and that extra services would operate additional to Lochmaddy, in North Uist - 42 miles away.

A routine annual inspection by specialist engineers and Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), which owns the ferry terminal, had revealed a number of lifting ropes on the linkspan which need to be replaced at the earliest opportunity. Last year’s inspections showed no issues.

Last week it emerged that that alternative route for people to Lochmaddy was being hit with cancellations by further concerns over safety due to pier works and adverse weather.

CalMac had continued to warn users that the works associated with a £15.3m pier upgrade which restrict vessel movement in the harbour area can be cancelled at short notice.

Now it has told users to expect further disruption with an amended timetable on Tuesday.

It said: "As a result of adverse weather for Tuesday, combined with ongoing council pier works at Lochmaddy which restricts vessel manoeuvrability in the harbour area, making it unsafe to arrive and depart in the forecasted wind speed and direction, an amended timetable will operate."

In April, George Leslie Ltd began replacing the existing infrastructure at the west coast ferry terminal to cater for a new fleet of vessels.

In August, Uist islanders complained that shops had to ration essential items amid widespread ferry cancellations.

It came after the loss of MV Hebrides, one of CalMac’s oldest ferries, which was taken out of service on Tuesday for a third time in a matter of weeks because of an issue with its CO2 firefighting system - which is a safety issue.

It led to a major disruption with the shutdown for three days of two routes between Uig on Skye, Lochmaddy on North Uist and Tarbert on Harris.

Essential repairs to MV Lord of the Isles in May saw services hit to and from South Uist ship for a week.

Western Isles local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar reacted with anger then at Uist being left without a service and demanded that action was taken to bring in an alternative ferry.

Earlier this year Stòras Uibhist a community owned company that manages the 93,000 acre South Uist Estate comprising the Outer Hebridean islands of Eriskay, South Uist and parts of Benbecula raised concerns that an “essential services” ferry timetable meant that the Lochboisdale route was the only one across the entire CalMac fleet to be suspended.

That meant adding six hours to the travelling time of a return trip to Glasgow as ferry users have to divert to get the ferry from North Uist and travel to Skye.

It formed a working group on behalf of the community "for both a short-term solution to the current problems and also for long-term improvements".

The state-owned ferry operator CalMac is having to handle an ageing ferry fleet with new vessels Glen Sannox and Hull 802 still languishing in Port Glasgow as the costs of their construction have soared from the original £97m contract to at least £250m and delivery is over five years late.

Seventeen of CalMac's 35 working ferries deployed across Scotland are now over 25 years old.

The oldest in the CalMac fleet is the Isle of Cumbrae which is 46-years old.

Meanwhile the much delayed Glen Sannox and as-yet-unnamed Hull 802 are due to be delivered to serve island communities in 2023 and early 2024 at a potential cost of nearly £350m – over three-and-a-half times the initial £97 million contract.

A spokesman for CalMac said: “We recognise that disruption to ferry services caused by breakdowns and technical faults is extremely challenging for local communities and for all of our customers, and we sincerely apologise to everyone who has been affected over the past few days. Where possible, displaced traffic has been moved onto other sailings and essential deliveries such as food and medical supplies have been prioritised.

“We are working hard to prevent unscheduled maintenance caused by technical issues and have invested record sums in our fleet to maintain vessel resilience and service.”