1 month ago
14
Christopher Brindle
MV Lord of the Isles had suspended sailings after an engine problem
Scotland's ferry shortage is reaching a "much better place" with a third major vessel set to resume service, CalMac says.
MV Lord of the Isles, which was covering the Oban to Mull route, is ready to sail again after problems with its main engine put it out of action.
The operator said its network was "critical" last weekend, after a series of issues left four ferries needing repairs while four others were in annual maintenance.
Earlier this week MV Glen Sannox returned to Arran and MV Isle of Islay, the newest ferry of the fleet, entered service after snagging issues were resolved.
He said: "We recognise that, though we're getting to a much better place, services in parts of the network are below what was planned and there's a named storm on the way.
"All our efforts are on stabilising things, and we expect two vessels back from annual overhaul next week.
"We have detailed information on our website for customers travelling over Easter weekend."
CalMac ferries out of action
One major vessel with technical problems.
- MV Isle of Arran (Off since 25 March)
Four vessels under annual maintenance.
- MV Alfred (Due back 6 April)
- MV Loch Frisa (Due back 9 April)
- MV Hebrides (Due back 15 April)
- MV Isle of Lewis (Due back late May)
Storm Dave is forecast to bring blizzards and high winds to large areas of Scotland.
The Met Office has three separate yellow wind warnings for Scotland, external, with snow to hit the west Highlands, Argyll and the Western Isles.
Power firm SSEN said gusts could reach about 80mph in parts of the Western Isles and Skye - with the high winds also reaching Orkney and Shetland on Sunday.
Getty Images
There are warnings of storm-force winds for parts of Scotland during the Easter weekend
Ferry shortages have force CalMac to moved vessels around its west coast network.
No direct service is currently available to Lochboisdale, so a combined Castlebay, Uig and Lochmaddy service is running instead.
MV Lord of the Isles had suspended sailings on 28 March after a "technical issue" with its main engine.
A smaller ferry, the 49-year-old Isle of Cumbrae, also developed a fault on Monday.
The return of Glen Sannox means the busy Arran route again has a two ferry service, provided sailings are not disrupted by the weekend weather.
Two other large ships, Isle of Lewis, Hebrides are away for scheduled maintenance or repairs, along with the chartered catamaran Alfred and a smaller ferry Loch Frisa.
CalMac has faced what it described as "unprecedented" vessel shortages since last week due to technical faults.
The state-owned operator said this has been compounded by other ships being away for scheduled annual maintenance and inspections.
