Panic in Scotland as islanders face 'difficult winter' with ferry chaos strands locals

Major repairs on a key Scottish ferry network have left the ageing vessel out of service until at least mid-November. The operator has said disruption is “inevitable” as the ferry has undergone repairs since January, with the return now delayed multiple times.

The MV Caledonion Isles ferries the route between Ardrossan in Ayrshire and Brodick on the Isle of Arran, one of the country’s largest and busiest places.

However, the boat standing in for the vessel, the MV Isle Arran, was too out of service for annual maintenance works, causing further disruption across the network.

Ferry operator, CalMac, has prolonged a temporary deployment plan as the summer timetable comes to an end this October. However, CalMac has issued a warning of further regular reviews of the timetable and which vessels operate on which routes.

CalMac interim chief executive officer, Duncan Mackison, said: “We did anticipate a difficult winter, with our major vessels spending a record number of days in annual maintenance, and it is shaping up to be just that.

“The combination of MV Caledonian Isles ongoing technical issues and the start of this year’s maintenance window has created a perfect storm for ferry services.

“We have a baseline deployment plan for the winter timetable period which allows for MV Caledonian Isles being in service. Now, we are likely to have to regularly review where vessels are deployed to try and maintain services across the whole west coast.”

Mackinson added: “Our priority is to keep communities on the network informed of our plans, and meet service demands wherever we can. However, it is inevitable there will be some disruption and on behalf of CalMac I apologise for that.”

Jamie Greene, Scottish Conservative West Scotland MSP, said the news is a “huge hit to a ferry network on its knees”.

“The continued absence of the Caledonian Isles will impact the entire ferry network, not just the Arran route. With the Hebridean Isles also set to retire in November, spare capacity and resilience in the network will be effectively zero,” says Greene.

“This means vessels will need to be juggled between routes, resulting in unscheduled cancellations across the network. Dedicated CalMac staff who work so hard to keep the ferry network afloat now face the prospect of operating the system without two major vessels.

“The constant news of delays and breakdowns we are seeing is down to years of SNP underinvestment in our ferry infrastructure, and as the ageing ferry fleet falters it is island and coastal communities who face increasing isolation as a result of this neglect.”