Ferry services were hit with a new wave of service cancellations after another of CalMac's ageing vessels broke down and another is expected to be forced out of action for a sixth month.
An engine problem with 31-year-old MV Loch Tarbert meant sailings were suspended on the ferry to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull on Saturday.
Scottish Government-owned CalMac had to arrange a passenger charter to help handle customers while the engine problems were investigated, spare parts were found and repairs carried out.
After repairs and sea trials, the ferry, which had its annual maintenance overhaul in December, was back in action on Sunday morning.
It comes as it emerged that the 38-year-old MV Hebridean Isles, which has been hit with issues since Boxing Day and was totally removed from the CalMac firing line in February is expected to remain out of action in July.
READ MORE: March for ferry justice: Islanders take protest over CalMac service cuts to mainland
CalMac said that continuing work to repair a pitch propellor means further delays with its return.
That has meant that a suspension of sailings between Ardrossan and Campbeltown will now last for at least three months. It will remain out of action until July 27 at the earliest.
The issues have also meant that services to and from Lochboisdale on South Uist have been suspended for the whole of June.
Lord of the Isles, which normally operates the route, is expected to return from its temporary redeployment on the main Islay route when MV Finlaggan returns to Islay from its delayed 21-day annual overhaul. It was due to go into dry dock for annual maintenance work on March 8 but that was delayed till June 3 and it is not expected back till July 1.
Sign up for the Scotland's Ferries newsletter and get extra analysis and information every week from Scotland's leading journalist on the issue.
It comes as a parliamentary vote on a multi-million pound fund to compensate islanders hit by disruption was blocked by the SNP.
CalMac hope that the Lochboisdale route will re-open on July 1.
It had previously said that if MV Hebridean Isles was back in service before the end of June, the South Uist cancellations which led to an island demonstration attended by hundreds would be reviewed.
New figures show that there were just 31 days over 15 months when CalMac ferries ran to their scheduled timetable.
The figures in response to a Liberal Democrats' question prompted fresh calls from the party for the Scottish Government to pay compensation to travellers affected by “mayhem” on ferry routes.
They found that ferries ere cancelled (performed below schedule) on 217 days out of 455.
And the Lib Dems said more and more ferries were being cancelled for technical reasons, causing the loss of 2,256 sailings across the 15-month period.
A ferry user group official said that there was concern about the length of time MV Hebridean Isles has been out of action for.
"It really has passed its sell-by date and every month we find that it cannot set sail," he said. "Heb Isles has been pretty much out of real action for nearly seven months now and there has to be concern that it is taking so long to get it back.
READ MORE: The 'hidden threat' to Scots ferry safety from electric vehicles
"And all the while the network struggles to maintain services. Things must change."
CalMac in response to the Lib Dems said there were 207 days over the 15-month period when it ran more sailings than were scheduled on its timetable.
CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond explained that environmental factors – such as adverse weather or tidal conditions – were the main reasons for ferries to be delayed or cancelled.
But he added: “We recognise that disruption to services due to breakdowns and technical faults is extremely challenging for local communities and we apologise to those affected when this occurs. The first six months of 2023 has been particularly challenging as vessels have required more work in drydock than planned.”
He said CalMac is “working hard to prevent unscheduled maintenance caused by technical issues”, with “record sums” being invested in the fleet – with spending on maintenance set to top £43million this year, compared to £20 million in 2017.
READ MORE: Anger as SNP blocks ferry fiasco compensation vote
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “While operational decisions regarding the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services lie with CalMac, we recognise this issue is not just about transport performance – it’s about delivering the confidence needed to sustain local populations.
“The Scottish Government has invested more than £2 billion in our ferry services since 2007 and we have outlined plans to invest around £700million in a five-year plan to improve ferry infrastructure.
“Since May 2021, we have bought and deployed an additional vessel in MV Loch Frisa, chartered the MV Arrow and MV Alfred, commissioned two new vessels for Islay, progressed investment in essential harbour infrastructure, and now we are delivering a further two new Islay-class vessels.”
In March it was confirmed that due to "persistent design gaps and build errors" the first of two lifeline vessel being built at nationalised Ferguson Marine is scheduled for autumn 2023 rather than the end of May 2023 with a "contract backstop" of no later than the end of December 2023.
A second vessel, Hull 802 is now not expected to set sail till the autumn of 2024 having already been delayed to the end of March 2024. The contract backstop was stated as being at the end of December 2024.
They were originally due to set sail in mid-2018 with one initially to serve Arran and the other to serve the Skye triangle routes to North Uist and Harris, but they are well over five years late. It is suggested the costs of delivery may quadruple compared to the original £97m contract costs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel