Major CalMac ferry is sidelined 'indefinitely' after £11m of repairs
It is now going back to dry dock for repairs just a couple of days after CalMac said in the latest of a series of false dawns for a return that it would be back in action from June 25.
CalMac had been booking passengers on MV Caledonian Isles for the Ardrossan to Arran ferry crossing in the past couple of weeks in expectation of its return - only for it not to happen.
A 'save Ardrossan' group had had to postpone a celebration because of the continuing uncertainty of the return of the ferry.
Users estimate hundreds of passengers have had to be diverted 15 miles to Troon to get on either MV Glen Sannox or MV Alfred to get to Brodick on Arran.
CalMac has told users that the decision has come after divers inspected MV Caledonian Isles and in with discussions with the manufacturer, had to be moved to dry dock for the next stage of efforts to resolve the "ongoing issue with pressure in the propulsion system".
They were told that they were "unable to confirm a return to service date until the vessel has been docked and inspected.
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They were told: "From that inspection, there are a range of scenarios and outcomes which could see a fix take anything from a few days to significantly longer.
"To give certainty to communities and customers, we are working at speed to review deployment plans for the next few weeks and will publish any amendments to timetables early next week."
It is expected that the Troon to Arran service would continue to be provided
"Everyone at CalMac is really disappointed we do not have the vessel back in service. I am sorry that Arran continues to experience disruption, particularly on June 25," said the message.
The cost of repairing 32-year-old MV Caledonian Isles has spiralled to be £2m more than a catamaran ferry available for £9m four years ago, which was rejected by Scottish Government-owned procuring and ferry owning company Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL).
The rejected ferry was similar in design to the 'emergency' catamaran ferry MV Alfred serving Arran, which has now been chartered for a further five months to help state-owned ferry operator CalMac cope with lifeline services across the Clyde and Hebrides network.
CalMac (Image: Newsquest)
The usual Arran ferry MV Caledonian Isles was due out of its annual overhaul on February 17 last year but remains out of service.
After a series of postponements, its latest scheduled return to the Ardrossan-Brodick route had been pencilled in for June 12.
The ship has faced a series of issues including rust and twisted frames.
In the meantime, the service to Brodick has had to move from Ardrossan and continue from Troon with a two-vessel service of the new, much delayed and wildly over-budget Ferguson Marine-built MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred.
Four years ago the Scottish Government-owned owner of the ferry fleet demanded a foreign firm pay up to £100,000 to gain UK maritime approval before purchasing a ferry for just £9m - and the insistence led to the deal collapsing.
Discussions about acquiring the Indonesia-built vessel came before what was described at the time as a 'summer of chaos' across Scotland's ageing ferry network.
It was claimed that CMAL made an "incredible" move to have the overseas owners fork out for the official approvals for any modifications to make it suitable for Scottish waters, which were estimated to have cost no more than £100,000.
A ferry user group official said the continuing uncertainty over MV Caledonian Isles was "another farce" and added: "It is incredible that people have had bookings for ferries going from Ardrossan when there is so much uncertainty over if it will ever come back.
"As I have said before, and this underlines it, it is more mismanagement from a ferry operator management that is being given an uncontested direct award of the ferry contract by the Scottish Government. "
Dubbed the most environmentally-friendly ferry service of its kind in Scotland, MV Alfred was said to burn one third of the fuel of an equivalent CalMac ferry with space for up to 430 passengers and 98 cars, or 54 cars and 12 articulated vehicles/coaches. A shore-based wind turbine provides power when the vessel is docked overnight.
p> MV Alfred (Image: NQ)
It has been confirmed that the 'emergency' CalMac catamaran ferry, which is being chartered for a further five months, will be costing the taxpayer some £22m.
Duncan Mackison, CalMac's chief executive 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.
'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.'
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