Calmac ferry’s lengthy repairs deal another blow to islanders
Arran’s main ferry will be out of action for nearly another four monthsuntilmid-junebecause of continuing repairs to the ageing Caledonian Isles, operator Calmac announced yesterday.
The news comes as yet another blow to islanders using one of the company’ s busiest routes, who have already waited six years for a new ferry because of massive delays to the completion of Glen Sannox.’
They have also suffered significant disruption for the past two years after ca led on ian isles took longer than expected to complete its annual maintenance and developed other problems.
Scottish Conservatives West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene said: “This latest astonishing revelation is just about the worst possible news for Arran and islanders who are at their wits’ end."
Calmac said there was an estimated further 16 weeks of work before the vessel could return to service on the main route to Brodick – taking it to mid June.
The company said it had “received clarification from the dry dock operator on the initial scope of significant steel renewal and repair required” on the 31-year-old vessel, which will cost some £5 million.
“To carry these repairs out, the auxiliary and main engines will need to be removed from the vessel to allow suitable access to the double bottom water ballast tank tops,” Calmac said. “These repairs need to be done in a planned, co-ordinated manner rather than all at the same time to maintain the vessel’ s structural integrity .”
The operator said it would announce how it would plug the gap to its summer timetable, which start sat the end of march, by March 4.
It said vessels were surveyed in advance of their annual maintenance to assess the extent of work needed, but there were “limitations to what these surveys can detect” and the steelwork required only emerged during the overhaul, which started on January 4.
Calmac chief executive Robbie Drummond said: “We know this news will cause concern and frustration for communities across the whole network, and we apologise for this. Our team will be working exceptionallyhard over the coming days to assess every eventuality in terms of vessel deployment.
"We will do the best we can in these circumstances, but it is unavoidable that there will be a knock-on effect on other routes on the network.
“Caledonian Isles has served North Ayrshire with distinction for over three decades, but like any ageing vessel the scope of work required in annual overhaul is likely to grow each year.
“Over a third of our vessels are now operating beyond their average life expectancy, and we invested record levels in annual maintenance in 2023.
“We are stretched to the absolute limit in terms of network deployment already, and the arrival of six major and ten small vessels in the coming years will provide much-needed resilience and reliability.”
Glen Sannox, which is being built at ferguson marine in port Glasgow, was due in service in 2018, but this is not now expected until late July at the earliest.
Sister vessel glen rosa, which is also scheduled to serve the main Arran route, is due to be completed next year.
Over a third of our vessels are now operating beyond their average life expectancy Robbie Drummond