Aging CalMac ferry sidelined due to rust, impacting island routes and causing travel disruption for residents.
They used the MV Isle of Mull instead, an older ferry, thirty-seven years old, that replaced the MV Isle of Lewis. This older ferry had problems with rust and its engine. The MV Isle of Lewis is thirty years old and needs fixing.
The MV Isle of Lewis went to dry dock in February and won’t be back by the end of this month as they need to do some steelwork on it. People fear it won’t return until mid-April, but word is, it may be back sooner.
CalMac’s ferries keep having issues due to an aging fleet. Last October, they changed some services because MV Caledonian Isles needed repairs, which might cost over £22 million.
The MV Caledonian Isles is thirty-one years old and went for maintenance last January. It was supposed to return in September, but it’s still out of service now after it had steel and engine problems in 2023.
More steelwork issues were found, and users heard the vessel needs “extensive steelwork,” making people worried about rust problems. Another ferry, the Hebridean Isles, will be scrapped because it is thirty-eight years old and can’t sail.
CalMac said Isle of Lewis won’t return on time after a user group said additional steel repairs are needed. They are making a new timetable because of the repairs, which also makes people worry about rust.
The community heard about the delay last week, but they didn’t get official word until later. Brian Currie, a hotelier, spoke about the lack of integrity, saying CalMac will wait until February 24 to plan, which makes planning things impossible for people.
He said it’s their direct mainland link at stake. Currie claimed locals told CalMac about the issues earlier. Then CalMac only just acknowledged the problem.
Last year, they cut the passenger amount on Isle of Mull after it failed a safety check where the evacuation system had problems. This meant fewer passengers could go on the ferry and they needed replacement parts, which took time.
The Isle of Mull normally carries 900 passengers, and it now runs a shared route from the start of last week, serving Barra and Lochboisdale. It should keep doing this up until March 3.
The transport committee worries about islanders because the Mull had limited room for them. The only fix was a five-hour detour, which was a trip on another ferry to Lochmaddy, and bus transport and costs were also issues.
They pushed CalMac about the January deployment mess and complained that Barra had no service yesterday or today. Other routes had some service with large ferries though, and CalMac chose the least capable ship.
Someone asked what Barra’s priority was if Isle of Mull was cancelled. They also asked why simple questions were hard to answer.
CalMac said bad weather made it hard to sail and they would keep everyone updated. They found more steel repairs needed on Isle of Lewis and they expect a delay, but it’s due back sooner than April, though.
CalMac will give a new schedule next week and tell people about any service changes. They add that delays might affect other routes too.
Ferry cancellations went up by 2,000% in 13 years, and CalMac cancelled 4,485 sailings in 2023. This is way more than the 217 in 2010, and they were struggling to keep the ferries going.
Two new ferries are very late: Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa were due in 2018, and the costs have quadrupled since the first estimate. Glen Rosa might now not be ready until 2026.
The Scottish Government took over the shipyard in 2019, after the company collapsed due to delays and costs that kept rising.
CalMac planned to update everyone before February 28, which was before MV Isle of Lewis was originally expected back.