CalMac has confirmed MV Alfred will be chartered for a further six months on the West Coast after it was found to be ‘too big’ for Stornoway Port.
Owned by Pentland Ferries, the vessel was chartered by CalMac for nine months from March 2023 – costing taxpayers £1million a month.
It will now continue to be operated by CalMac until the end of July 2024 – but the exact route remains a mystery.
A CalMac spokesperson said that MV Alfred is expected to operate as a resilience vessel and also assist with vessel overhaul cover where required.
MV Alfred was originally expected to provide freight services between Ullapool and Stornoway.
However, CalMac reported last month that the vessel was too big to fit in Stornoway Port.
The operator announced that another ferry, MV Arrow, was to take on the Ullapool-Stornoway route.
MV Alfred repaired following issues
MV Alfred was recently out of action after having broken down for the second time in a month.
Gearbox issues spotted on the boat at the end of September originally led to cancellations to and from Arran, while repairs were undertaken for three weeks.
The incident was followed by an issue with MV Alfred’s thruster that needed repairs to be undertaken in late October.
A CalMac spokesperson said: “MV Alfred has been repaired but will not be running the freight service on the Stornoway-Ullapool route, as she cannot berth at those ports.
“This will not affect service delivery, as we already had other vessels in place to operate that route.”
“We are currently planning where the Alfred’s next deployment will be.”
New vessel for Stornoway route as £1 million-a-month rental ferry ‘too big’ for port
