CalMac apology after seven of its main ferries out of action

CalMac has apologised to passengers for an "unprecedented situation" that put seven out of its 10 main ferries out of action.

Four major vessels are in overhaul while three more were out of service with technical issues across its West of Scotland network.

These include cancelled morning sailings on Arran's troubled Glen Sannox ferry - which is facing £3.2m of further costs after only a year in operation.

In a statement issued directly to island communities, CalMac warned that the situation "may be the most pressing we've faced".

On Thursday morning, the Isle of Arran had no major vessels in service, until Glen Sannox resumed sailings at 15:00.

Mull has one vessel, MV Coruisk, operating its main Oban-Craignure route, while Islay has one ferry, MV Finlaggan, sailing to the island.

Barra and South Uist have a reduced service, with both islands sharing the MV Isle of Mull.

Coll, Tiree and Colonsay also have a reduced service due to a smaller vessel, MV Lord of the Isles, covering the route instead of MV Clansman.

CalMac said it had four vessels "critical to providing these services" in overhaul.

In addition, three ferries were out of action with technical issues.

CalMac also said its new ferry MV Isle of Islay was conducting sea trials to rectify a small number of outstanding issues.

It said it was at "significant risk" of not being in service for the start of the summer timetable on Friday, with with sailings cancelled until Sunday.

CalMac chief executive officer Duncan Mackison said: "We are in an unprecedented situation where four major vessels are in overhaul, three are off service with technical issues and there's a risk to our newest vessel entering service for the start of our summer timetable.

"Collectively, this is causing network-wide issues and impacting service levels for Arran, Barra, Coll, Colonsay, Islay, Mull, South Uist and Tiree.

"We apologise to everyone affected by disruption, and we're doing everything we can to restore services as quickly as possible."

Earlier this month, both ferries on the main route to Arran were suspended due to a technical problem with MV Glen Sannox, just a week after it returned to service from earlier repairs.

The troubled vessel needs new propellers as part of a multi-million pound overhaul.

This week, it was also revealed two new CalMac ferries delivered late and over-budget will not be able to dock at a publicly-owned harbour until at least 2029.

The Scottish government said facilities at Ardrossan were not currently equipped to allow MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa to berth.

The harbour, which was taken into public ownership last month, is set to be the long-term home for the service.

Glen Sannox began sailings in January last year – almost seven years after it was originally due to be delivered.