Latest news with #CalMac
STV News
5 hours ago
- Business
- 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
a day ago
- Business
- 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
a day 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.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
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.
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
New setback for CalMac ferry as repairs could take 'significantly longer'
Return to service date next week scrapped Sign up for the latest news and analysis about Scottish transport Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... New doubts have emerged over when one of CalMac's largest ferries will return to service after nearly 18 months of repairs with the operator warning it could be 'significantly' longer than a few days. The 1,000-passenger Caledonian Isles was due to carry passengers again next Wednesday for the first time since January last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Caledonian Isles undergoing sea trials in the Clyde on Tuesday | John Devlin/The Scotsman However, that date was scrapped on Thursday because CalMac said the vessel would need to return to dry dock for further work following sea trials this week. It means further uncertainty for Arran islanders anxiously awaiting the resumption of sailings on their principal route between Ardrossan and Brodick, which have been suspended since January. Services have been switched to the longer crossing from Troon, which does not have a rail station at the port. This is because CalMac's new ferry Glen Sannox and chartered catamaran Alfred cannot use Ardrossan harbour. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad John Devlin/The Scotsman CalMac said Caledonian Isles' return to dry dock was the next stage of efforts to resolve a pressure issue with the vessel's propulsion system'. Previous repairs had included to its gearbox and to replace thinning steel in its hull, along with to steelwork being bent out of shape, whose cause is still being investigated. CalMac said it was 'finalising details for docking and unable to confirm a provisional return to service date until the inspection takes place'. Chief executive Duncan Mackison said: 'Everyone at CalMac is disappointed that 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Once the vessel is in dry dock, 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.
