"Critical" situation worsens for CalMac fleet
The current ferry shortage is the worst CalMac has ever faced, as its CEO calls the situation "critical".
The major shortages across the CalMac fleet worsened over the weekend, with nine vessels and one passenger only boat now out of action. This is as bad as it has ever been for CalMac.
Late last week, CalMac warned of an "unprecedented" situation when seven vessels were not in service, due to three breakdowns and four in dry dock for annual overhaul.
On Friday morning, that temporarily got worse, when a generator issue hit MV Coruisk, but eventually she came back into service later that day, alongside MV Caledonian Isles.
But over the weekend, more breakdowns occurred. On Saturday, MV Lord of the Isles went down with an engine issue, and she was not even able to begin repairs until Monday.
And on the MV Isle of Islay’s sea trials, issues were found in her power system, meaning she was not able to enter service before April as hoped.
As the morning of Monday March 30, eight CalMac ferries were out of action.
And then by the afternoon, a fifth breakdown occurred, as MV Isle of Cumbrae suffered a technical issue, leaving Tarbert - Portavadie sailings cancelled until Thursday.
The four in for planned maintenance are:
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MV Alfred (due back in service April 6)
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MV Loch Frisa (due back in service April 9)
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MV Hebrides (due back in service April 15)
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MV Isle of Lewis (extended drydock for steelwork, due back in service by end of May)
The passenger only MV Argyll Flyer is also out for regularly scheduled maintenance, due back from Ardmaleish Boatyard on Thursday April 2. Gourock-Dunoon is running with a one vessel service, with negligible impact on the route.
The following vessels are not in service due to unplanned technical issues: MV Isle of Arran covering Mull (Oban-Craignure) due to damaged couplings on bow thrusters; MV Glen Sannox covering Arran (Troon-Brodick) due to exhaust issues; MV Lord of the Isles covering Coll, Tiree and Colonsay and Oban-Craignure thanks to a misalignment of the starboard main engine and the newly arrived MV Isle of Islay.
The Arran and Sannox are hoped to re-enter service this week, with the MV Islay running on a day by day basis.
CalMac is doing all it can to get its fleet back in working order. With the toils of the last week stretching the provider to its limit, it is not exercising wishful thinking.
"Disruption will certainly continue into next week but we’re working hard to permanently address the issue with MV Glen Sannox’s exhaust and to rectify the outstanding issues on MV Isle of Islay, to get both vessels in service as soon as possible," Duncan Mackison added.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop issued a statement on the situation following the MV Isle of Cumbrae’s breakdown.
She said: “I want to assure all those impacted by the current shortage of ferries on the West Coast Island network that the Scottish Government and CalMac are urgently working closely to resolve these issues. Our shared priority is to ensure minimum disruption, and to restore services as quickly as possible.
“Work is being delivered at pace to bring the MV Glen Sannox back into service and introduce the MV Isle of Islay into service, alongside other actions to ensure we are able to provide services for passengers. This includes ensuring clear and effective communication to customers is prioritised.
“Given the significant disruption facing these services and our Island communities, I want to thank people for their cooperation and encourage everyone due to use the ferry network in the coming days to check with their operators to understand any impacts.”
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