Brodick trials for MV Alfred may be scuppered by Orkney return
There was still no announcement, as The Arran Banner went to press, on where or when, the much-vaunted MV Alfred could come into service for CalMac, a week after it was drafted in as an emergency relief vessel.
The catamaran leased from Pentland Ferries has been carrying out sea trials at ports across the west of Scotland to see where she would be suitable for her deployment. However, the nine-month lease, costing the Scottish government £9 million, now has been thrown into doubt by the grounding of her sister ship the MV Pentalina.
Brought into replace the MV Alfred, she grounded on Orkney at the weekend and it is now thought the leased vessel may be wanted back by Pentland Ferries to cover the route while MV Pentalina is repaired.
Scotland’s transport minister Kevin Stewart has not ruled out the possibility of returning MV Alfred to the Pentland Firth route should it be required, even though there is no contractual obligation.
Things had looked promising at the weekend when the MV Alfred visited Arran, arriving after 11pm on Saturday, when a small crowd gathered to see her. She successful berthed at both piers, before travelling to the Irish Berth at Ardrossan after tricky manoeuvring where she remained until Tuesday.
She then headed overnight to Campbeltown, before returning to first Troon, then Ayr, which has been chosen as a likely lay-by port for the vessel. MV Alfred has also conducted berthing trials at Ullapool, Uig and Port Askaig on Islay.
After discovering smoke in the engine room and issuing a Mayday call, MV Pentalina grounded about 100 yards from its destination, St Margaret’s Hope on South Ronaldsay, Orkney, with 60 people on board.
Emergency services attended the scene and passengers were evacuated by lifeboats. Thankfully, there were no reports of injuries.
While investigations into the incident are ongoing, initial reports made to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency indicated the vessel suffered from a sudden mechanical failure.
A Scottish government spokesperson told the Banner: “We are grateful to all parties involved in the incident on Saturday and the minister has written to key responders to thank them for their efforts.
“The current priority is for Pentland Ferries to assess the condition of the vessel and any next steps to determine when she can return to service on the Pentland Firth. All parties will work to minimise disruption to services to Orkney and parliament will be kept updated.
“We are committed to the completion of the two ferries at the Ferguson Marine shipyard and supporting our island communities that rely on this type of vessel on a daily basis. More broadly, we have invested more than £2 billion in our ferry services since 2007 and have outlined plans to invest around £700 million in a five-year plan to improve ferry infrastructure.
“Since May 2021, we have bought and deployed an additional vessel in MV Loch Frisa in June, chartered the MV Arrow, commissioned two new vessels for Islay, progressed investment in essential harbour infrastructure and are delivering a further two new Islay-class vessels.”