CalMac chief pledges 'level of certainty' as ferry crisis eases but warns 'we are not out of the woods yet'
Two large vessels due to return within days but two others remain out of action
CalMac has pledged "a level of certainty for the next month" for all islanders with the expected return within days of two of its remaining four large ferries being repaired or overhauled.
Chief executive Duncan Mackison said on Thursday: “Though we are not out of the woods yet, we’re in a relatively stable position and are hopeful that things will continue to improve.”
His optimistic outlook follows the UK’s largest ferry operator suffering what it termed an “unprecedented” crisis on its 29-route west coast network at the start of its summer season last month with up to ten vessels out of action, almost a third of its fleet and the most for years.
However, the two other ferries are not expected back for another month and six weeks respectively.
CalMac said Hebrides is due to return to service on the Little Minch route between Skye, Harris and North Uist on Sunday after annual maintenance in Leith.
Lord of the Isles is scheduled to be back on Monday following engine repairs, when it will initially be sent to help clear backlogs on the worst affected routes.
The ferry will then temporarily act as the second vessel on the Islay route, joining the brand new Isle of Islay from April 26 to May 17 while the route’s other ferry Finlaggan undergoes its annual overhaul.
Isle of Islay, which has itself been switched to the Barra route, will return to the Islay service from Tuesday.
Hebrides’ return will enable normal services to be restored on several routes from Monday, with Clansman back to serving Coll, Tiree and Colonsay, which in turn will enable Isle of Mull to return as the main vessel on the principal Mull route between Oban and Craignure.
That in turns enables Coruisk to return to serving its Mallaig to Armadale in Skye route from Tuesday.
However, CalMac said the ongoing absence of its ageing Isle of Arran ferry meant Mallaig to Lochboisdale in South Uist sailings would remain suspended.
Engineers are seeking replacement couplings for the 42-year-old vessel’s bow thruster, which might need to be specially manufactured, but hope to have the ferry back in mid-May.
CalMac said it had added extra sailings across the Sound of Barra so South Uist passengers could reach the mainland via Castlebay in Barra.
It said they could claim any extra cost compared to sailing direct via the company’s passenger rights policy.
The other large ferry out of action, the 31-year-old Barra vessel Isle of Lewis, is undergoing steelwork repairs in Aberdeen which is taking three months until the end of May.
Meantime, the one-year-old Arran ferry Glen Sannox, redeployed to the Ullapool-Stornoway route to assist Loch Seaforth which has operated at reduced capacity following repairs, will be stood down from there on Sunday.
CalMac said it would undergo berthing trials at Uig in Skye to assess its suitability for the Little Minch routes following similar tests at Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist in in January last year.
That will be followed by trials at Castlebay in Barra and Oban with a view to Glen Sannox taking over that route dfrom Monday afternoon.
Chartered catamaran Alfred will operate Glen Sannox’s normal Troon-Brodick route on its own from Friday.
Mr Mackison: “This remains a fast-moving situation but the expected return of two major vessels by Monday allows us to provide all communities with a level of certainty for the next month.
“Normal services will be restored to Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Mull and we are able to get two vessels back on Islay.
“We’re grateful to the patience, support and understanding we’ve had from islanders in recent weeks during this period of widespread disruption.
“We do not take that for granted, and it has been much appreciated by everyone at CalMac who has been working hard to maintain and restore services.”
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