The jinxed ferry that plies Caledonian MacBrayne’s longest route is out of action yet again – with calls for its early replacement.
The 25-year-old MV Isle of Lewis – which sails on the Oban to Barra route – has been sidelined, this time by a broken bow ramp.
It is out of service until Thursday at least after it did not carry out sailings since the week before last due to onboard faults and bad weather.
The 331-ft vessel now cannot move off the one-ship pier at the Castlebay linkspan on Barra, so there is no berth for any replacement ship.
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, who lives on Barra, said there had been “too many breakdowns” that had plagued the ship over the past year in particular.
He said some of the problem lay with the delayed CalMac ferries being built of the Clyde – with the final cost of the two ships for Arran and the Hebrides expected to be close to £200m, double the original budget. They are over three years late.
“This latest breakdown highlights the need for management on the Clyde to up their game and get the two delayed ferries completed quicker to unblock the procurement programme for ageing ships like the Lewis which are having too many breakdowns,” he said.
People took to social media to also vent their frustration.
One wrote: “Shocking it’s always Barra that suffers one of the oldest boats in the fleet.”
A spokesman for CalMac said: “Due to the nature of the technical issue, the vessel is unable to safely move off the berth in Castlebay and repairs will be carried out there.
“As a result, it is not possible to operate a service from Castlebay with an alternative vessel.”
The alternative route available to customers will be to travel via the Sound of Barra to connect with the Lochboisdale ferry which goes to Mallaig and not Oban.
Eleven days ago, the MV Isle of Lewis was diverted to Ullapool for repairs following a severe failure of her water and sanitation systems, necessitating the smaller MV Lord of the Isles to carry out a combined runs.
Foot passengers requiring transport between Oban and Mallaig are asked to contact the Oban office.
This time last year, Caledonian MacBrayne were blasted by Western Isles Council for leaving islanders marooned for days without a ferry.
A combination of poor weather and technical faults on the Isle of Lewis left the people of Barra facing days without a service on their lifeline ferry route to Oban.
CalMac apologised for the disruption.
