Arran's main ferry could be out of service until late March

The main Arran ferry - which has been retired of enactment since February - whitethorn not instrumentality to work until adjacent March, CalMac has confirmed.

The ferry usually operates connected the Ardrossan-Brodick route, but it was taken retired of work earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile important repairs had to beryllium carried out.

CalMac said caller problems had been uncovered connected MV Caledonian Isles portion the vessel was successful adust dock.

No caller day has been confirmed yet for its instrumentality to service, but the ferry relation warned that successful a worst-case script it could miss the full wintertime season.

It was primitively owed to instrumentality to work successful September but a caller gearbox responsibility was detected, which knocked its instrumentality day to mid-November.

However, CalMac has present said the ship's stern conduit bearings and 8 alloy frames request repaired oregon replaced.

It said the ship's instrumentality day could not beryllium confirmed yet, arsenic determination was uncertainty astir the availability to dock and the grade of the enactment required.

The ferry relation warned that the MV Caledonian Isles could stay retired of work until the extremity of the wintertime timetable successful precocious March.

CalMac volition consult with land communities aboriginal this week connected a revised vas deployment program for winter.

CalMac’s interim main enforcement Duncan Mackison said the planned enactment was progressing well, but the the latest issues "eliminated immoderate accidental of a instrumentality to work successful the short-term".

He said: “We are successful nary uncertainty astir the existent challenges facing the web and the radical who trust connected it. We anticipated a challenging winter, and that is precisely what we’re seeing play out.

"Any decisions we instrumentality astir the work disconnected the backmost of this quality volition origin disruption successful places, and we volition present consult with communities to get their invaluable input into that work plan.

“Our caller efforts to adhd resilience to the service, specified arsenic done trialling third-party vessels and by bringing guardant the drydock enactment for MV Caledonian Isles, volition continue. We volition permission nary chromatic unturned arsenic we effort to conscionable the needs of the land communities we serve.”

CalMac present faces a wintertime play without 2 of the 10 large vessels it usually relies connected to support services.

The MV Hebridean Isles is owed to beryllium withdrawn from work aboriginal this period arsenic it needs recertification and repair enactment is not economical.

The long-delayed Glen Sannox was owed to beryllium handed implicit past month, but immoderate issues that arose during acceptance trials resulted successful different delay.

It volition necessitate unit familiarisation trials and the vessel volition not transportation passengers until January astatine the earliest.

Last week CalMac looked into chartering MV Ben-My-Chree from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, but berthing trials connected the Arran way were unsuccessful.

The vessel managed to berth astatine some Troon and Brodick but information margins astatine Brodick were excessively choky to proceed with the charter plan.

Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said the latest MV Caledonian Isles hold was "yet different devastating stroke for the residents of Arran and CalMac ferry users".

“The SNP’s incompetence has near betrayed islanders with an ever-ageing vas which is undergoing yet much lengthy repairs, whilst the caller Glen Sannox is inactive obscurity to beryllium seen," helium said.

“The continued lack of the Caledonian Isles volition present interaction the full ferry web and, with the MV Hebridean Isles connected its mode to the scrap heap, determination is simply nary spare capableness successful the network."

CalMac has a wintertime deployment program successful spot done until Friday 15 November and the caller program volition instrumentality effect from Saturday 16 November.

It volition beryllium published by Wednesday 13 November.