Arran ferry service hit by new setback as Caledonian Isles returns to dry dock
The MV Caledonian Isles has been plagued with maintenance issues which have delayed its return to service.
CalMac can't say when services will run between Ardrossan and Arran after the MV Caledonian Isles was taken back to dry dock before it could re-entre service.
Gearbox problems had delayed the long-awaited return of the vessel but the ferry operator today, Thursday, June 19, confirmed it would be returning to dry dock for further inspections.
The MV Caledonian Isles had been due to return to the route from Brodick to Ardrossan in March after maintenance but that date had continued to be pushed back by a series of unforeseen issues.
It means passengers looking to travel between Arran and the mainland will be restricted to sailing via Troon for the time being.
Further disruption is expected on the Arran service as the MV Alfred will be out of service on Wednesday, June 25 for "mandatory" training and then again from Monday, July 7 for two weeks for "essential maintenance which has already been delayed".
A spokesperson for CalMac said: "MV Caledonian Isles will now be moved to drydock following attendance by divers and the manufacturer. This means she will be unavailable for service. We don't yet have a return to service date until the investigation takes place.
"This is the next stage of efforts to resolve what we now know to be an ongoing issue with pressure levels in her propulsion system. We will provide another update on this next week.
"MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred will continue to operate the service to/from Arran until 6 July, as per the current timetable - with the exception of 25 June.
"However, on 25 June, MV Alfred needs to be off service to fulfil prearranged mandatory MES training.
"MV Alfred requires essential maintenance, which has already been delayed once to support network requirements, between 7 and 21 July.
"We will provide a further update on deployment plans next week when the investigation has progressed further."
Ardrossan Harbour has lain empty since the MV Glen Sannox entered service in January - six years late and four times over budget - as the Arran service moved exclusively to Troon.
as the timescale for repairs to the MV Caledonian Isles were extended.
Ardrossan Harbour is too small to cope with the MV Glen Sannox - the second largest and the most complex vessel ever built for CalMac - and its sister ship the MV Glen Rosa.
Plans to upgrade the harbour were previously approved by the Scottish Government in 2018 but discussions between stakeholders stalled and the work has yet to start.
In February, the Scottish Government announced they would explore nationalising Ardrossan Harbour so that upgrades could be done to allow the Arran ferry to return.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
9 hours ago
- The National
Scottish Government announces £23.5 million for active travel
The cash is intended for programmes that will improve walking and cycling across the country, with projects required to satisfy one of four themes based around schools, businesses, accessibility and inclusion or capacity and capability. Returning for a second year, the funding will also expand to potentially help fund other sustainable travel projects, including demand-led buses. Announcing the funding on Friday at a project in Armadale, West Lothian, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: 'It is really important that we support people and communities to make different choices about how they get around in their local areas, and making it easier and safer to walk, wheel and cycle is a key part of that. (Image: Supplied) 'So I am pleased to announce that over £23 million has now been allocated to support projects which will help to achieve this. It forms part of over £188 million that we are allocating for active and sustainable travel in 2025-26.' She added: 'The Scottish Government is investing significantly to create appropriate infrastructure – but we also need to invest in projects, similar to the Walking Bus, that widen access, encourage participation and support uptake in schools and workplaces. 'In doing so, we will encourage a shift away from cars and towards more sustainable travel that improves health, saves people money and reduces emissions.' Ranald Robertson, the director of Hitrans – the regional transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands – said he was 'delighted' with the funding. 'We look forward to supporting a wide range of active and sustainable travel behaviour change initiatives, tailored to the specific needs of local schools, workplaces and communities across Scotland, to help increase the number of people walking, wheeling, cycling or taking public transport for their journeys,' he added.
Daily Record
10 hours ago
- Daily Record
South Ayrshire Tourist Tax put on the back burner for two years
The upfront costs, a lack of definitive 'cash benefit', and industry opposition led to councillors agreeing to pause the project for at least a couple of years. A new South Ayrshire tourist tax has been put on the back burner. But tourism spokesperson, Councillor Alec Clark, believes that despite the nature of the tax offered by the Scottish Government, a visitor levy was inevitable. South Ayrshire Council's Cabinet heard that a visitor levy of between one and five per cent would bring in between £400k and £2m a year at most. However, significant upfront costs, a lack of definite cash benefits and the opposition of major tourism groups, led to officials recommending a two year pause. Assistant Director of Communities, George Hunter, told the Cabinet on Wednesday: 'Officers have been considering the pros and cons of a visitor levy, including an open consultation that ran for the best part of three months.' He said that the Scottish Tourism Alliance, which is the industry body for tourism, had raised concerns about potential impact on Scotland's competitiveness as a tourism destination. The Federation of Small Businesses also raised concerns about the impact and small accommodation providers who may struggle with the administrative burden of collecting the levy. He continued: 'The FSB have also expressed concerns, supported by engagement with local accommodation providers about the potential negative impact on the local economy. A similar position was taken by The Association of Scottish Self-Caterists who said that, given the current challenging economic climate, the levy would be an additional burden on their members. The project has been part of the council's transformation programme. Mr Hunter said that officers on the transformation board had looked at the survey feedback and had recommended a pause that would allow them to monitor the impact in other areas which had already agreed to go ahead with a levy. Councillor Clark said: 'I agree with the outcome and I agree that it has to be reviewed in August 2027. 'I do believe, eventually, we will have a tourist levy. The problem this particular time is that it was complex. 'It was from the very beginning. The Scottish Government decided to make it a percentage levy, whereas anywhere else has a flat rate. 'That complicated things from the start, because it was a percentage not necessarily of a whole hotel. You have to break that down. 'That causes administration costs right away. It is obviously taken up by the City of Edinburgh and Glasgow, because they themselves have the amount of tourism to justify it, and it'll be interesting to see how Argyll and Bute Council go along with this. 'I think that the problem with the survey is that if you had surveyed the nation or a town to say if they would like to a tax rise, the answer is going to come back 'No', it's a negative. 'So we go anywhere in Europe, travel anywhere else in the world, and you pay a visitor levy. 'And that visitor levy goes towards making improvements to the tourism offer, and indeed to the suburbs. 'The problem here is the way that the rest of levy is constructed to be distributed is complicated. 'It's not just a certain manner of distribution that South Ayrshire can turn and say, okay, we bring in £200k and we will use that £200k for x, y and z. 'I think it goes through, though I stand to be corrected, a different type of board who than decide what the priorities are, and it's not necessarily what way we decide. 'So, overall, I do agree with what we're doing. I support the paper. But, I do think in the end, when the review comes, it may be looked at in a different manner. 'I would hope that the process coming out the Scottish Government is more straightforward.' Following a query from Councillor Hugh Hunter on the specific reason to remove the levy project from the transformation portfolio, Assistant Director of Transformation, Louise Reid, pointed out that the guidance from Audit Scotland requires the work of the board to deliver 'cashable benefits.' She said: 'As yet, we've been unable to clearly identify what the cashable benefits would be from the introduction of a visitor levy, given the set-up costs that involved developing the new technology, implementing systems and processes. 'There's also a resource requirement up front that would be required. Now, given that there's an also an 18 month consultation that's statutory in place, those costs would be over a number of financial years until we're actually able to generate any benefits from it. 'So, given the focus of the transformation program is on projects that are going to support the council's budget deficit and financial sustainability, that's the recommendation that it should move to this point.' Cabinet agreed to pause the visitor levy programme until August 2027.
STV News
13 hours ago
- STV News
‘Impossible to say' how long Arran ferry will remain out of action, says Calmac
It is 'impossible to say' how long a ferry serving one of Scotland's busiest island routes will continue to be out of action, the operator has said. The MV Caledonian Isles usually operates on the route between Ardrossan in North Ayrshire and Brodick on the Isle of Arran, but it has been out of service since January last year. It had been due to return to the route in recent weeks, but issues with its gearbox have forced consistent delays. On Thursday, CalMac announced the ship would return to dry dock for work on a pressure issue with its propulsion system. Chief executive Duncan Mackison said the inspection will take a few days, and the length of time the ship will continue to be out of action will not be known until that is completed. 'Everyone at CalMac is disappointed that MV Caledonian Isles isn't ready to carry passengers yet, and I know that disappointment will be shared by communities across our network and by those who travel to and from Arran regularly,' he said. 'Once the vessel is in drydock, the inspection will take a few days. Until then, it is impossible to say how long any repair might take. 'But there is a range of possible scenarios going from the issue being resolved in a few days to it taking significantly longer. 'To give communities and customers certainty, we're removing MV Caledonian Isles from deployment plans for now and will provide a detailed update on any service impact early next week.' When it returns to service, the Caledonian Isles will run from Ardrossan, the only ferry in the vicinity able to do so given the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox and its yet-to-be-delivered sister ship are too big to dock at the port, meaning passengers have to board at Troon, South Ayrshire. The Scottish Government is investigating potentially buying the port at Ardrossan to make the necessary changes to allow both newer vessels to berth there, but talks are reported to have stalled. Scottish Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said the latest news will have 'Arran residents tearing their hair out in despair'. 'It beggars belief that there is still no return date for a ferry which has been out of service since January last year,' she said. 'The makeshift CalMac fleet is hanging together by a thread – and the blame for this lies squarely with the SNP and their abject failure to build the new ferries that betrayed islanders were promised years ago. 'CalMac and island communities have been left crossing their fingers that no other aging and decrepit vessels break down in the meantime.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'CalMac has informed us that while carrying out sea trials for MV Caledonian Isles, further work has been identified relating to pressure levels in the propulsion system. Further information is expected in the coming days. 'In the interim, a two-vessel service will continue to operate between Arran and the mainland, via Troon. This two-vessel service will be delivered by MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred. 'MV Alfred, which is currently chartered from Pentland Ferries, will be retained by CalMac until the end of October. 'This will continue to provide improved resilience across the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
