Caledonian Isles return delayed as specialist flies in from Norway
The vessel was supposed to make its long-awaited return on Friday 13th June, but this was postponed after the gearbox glitch was uncovered.
CalMac has now said that further work will be required before the ship can enter service – with a specialist having to travel from Norway to assist with the investigation into the fault.
The vessel is now set to resume service between Ardrossan and Brodick on Wednesday 25 June.
Until then, all customer demand will continue to be met with a two-vessel service out of Troon with MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred.
Problems have dogged the MV Caledonian Isles for more than a year (Image: NQ) Efforts to resolve the gearbox issue are ongoing, with several potential root causes having been eliminated over the past few days.
The vessel will undertook further trials on Tuesday 17 June to gather data.
Kongsberg, the manufacturer of the gearbox, is sending a technical specialist to the vessel who will arrive on Thursday.
Months of major repair work took place in dry dock at Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside, requiring removal of the ship's engines.
The ferry, which serves the main Arran route and is one of the largest ships in the company's fleet, was originally supposed to have returned to the water following repairs last November.
But this was set back by the discovery of 'steel deformation' and the need to replace both stern tube bearings.
The MV Caledonian Isles, docked at Broddick (Image: NQ) The company said 'extensive' repairs to the steel had to be completed, but the shafts required further 'machining' in Denmark before sailings could resume.
A CalMac spokeswoman said: 'Whilst we recognise a further delay is disappointing, we have taken the decision to extend the return date into next week to provide customers and the community with certainty ahead of the weekend.
'Continuing to have MV Alfred as part of the fleet means that we can honour all customer bookings, so visitors can still travel to and from Arran as planned.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
2 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
BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
Ferry fares under review but no decision on RET, says minister
The Scottish government is reviewing west coast ferry fares, but insisted that no decisions have been made on the future of cheaper invests about £25m every year to reduce the cost of fares on CalMac crossings under a scheme called road equivalent tariff (RET).RET applies to both islanders and visitors, and is available on Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) - including the Western Isles, and if it could be scrapped for non-islanders, Connectivity Minister Jim Fairlie told BBC Naidheachdan that all options had to be "on the table and then ruled out one by one". He said fares were being looked at as part of a wider review of the resilience of CalMac's Fairlie added: "We are going to look at everything. There are no decisions made on anything at this stage." What is RET? RET is a distance-based fares structure and was introduced by the SNP on a trial basis in 2008 on routes to the Western Isles, Coll and was rolled out across the remaining CHFS routes by the Stornoway-Ullapool route, RET means a single fare for a foot passenger costs £12.30 and £66.75 for the scheme, they would cost £25.75 and £128.70, according to Transport said single fares on the Oban-Tiree route without RET would cost £22.60 for foot passengers and £135.60 for RET, they are £13.70 and £74.75. 'Supporting islanders' Mr Fairlie said the review would look at how more revenue could be raised to improve the resilience of CalMac's said: "I think people are wise enough to understand that governments have to look at every possible option."Mr Fairlie said the Scottish government was committed to supporting island Scotland said that, under the Islands Connectivity Plan, it was working towards implementing islander and non-islander fares across CHFS and Northern Isles networks. A spokesperson said: "No final decisions have been taken on the detail of this and there will be engagement with stakeholders in due course."
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Return of MV Caledonian Isles on Arran route delayed again over pressure issue
Ferry operator CalMac has said it is "impossible to say" how long a ferry serving Arran will remain out of action due to a pressure Caledonian Isles has been unable to carry passengers since January 2024 due to a series of faults that have cost nearly £11m to 32-year-old ship had been due to resume sailings from Ardrossan to Arran last week but sea trials revealed a problem with the ship's operator said the ship would return to dry dock in the next week to resolve a pressure issue with the vessel's propulsion system. CalMac said it was unable to confirm a return to service date until an inspection takes place, but sailings from Troon would still be available in the meantime with a two-vessel service of MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred. MV Caledonian Isles was initially taken out of service in January last year after routine annual maintenance revealed serious steel ship underwent months of major repair work in dry dock at Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside, which required removal of the ship's the ship returned to Scotland in September, a gearbox and propeller fault were investigation at Dale's Marine in Greenock revealed the rear of the ship was had been due to return to the Arran route by the end of April, but this was repeatedly pushed back and the ship was expected to return to service last week. Ferry service update The state-owned operator's chief executive officer Duncan Mackison said: "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 the inspection of the vessel would take a few days and until then, it was "impossible" to determine how long repairs might Mackison added: "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, MV Caledonian Isles will run from Ardrossan, the only ferry in the vicinity able to do so since the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox and its yet-to-be-delivered sister ship are too big to dock at the passengers heading to Arran have to board the replacement ferries at 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.
