Three separate technical faults are affecting a ferry that offers a “lifeline” service from Lochboisdale to Mallaig.
The MV Lord of the Isles has been having issues since Friday.
At first, it was issues with steelwork that saw the ferry that connects Lochboisdale to the mainland pulled from service.
Then problems were found with the radar system, meaning sailings on Sunday had to be changed to daylight hours.
And now, yet another issue has cancelled the ferry: “an issue with the port main engine.”
With Christmas plans in the balance, CalMac says it is working to get the fix all the faults as quickly as possible.
“Technicians will be on site late tomorrow afternoon to repair the pitch control and the steelwork,” said CalMac’s managing director Robbie Drummond. “If these are resolved as planned, an amended timetable will operate during daylight hours from Wednesday 14th December.”
‘Wednesday at the earliest’
“The radar will be fixed as soon as parts have been sourced, which will not be until Wednesday at the earliest.”
In the meantime, Mr Drummond said that “important shellfish deliveries are being prioritised to meet Christmas demand.”
“Essential supplies such as food and medicine are also being prioritised.”
But, even if the issues are fixed as quickly as possible, the dire state of the Hebrides’ ferries is clear.
Three separate faults makes the MV Lord of the Isles a stark representation of the technical problems that have battered island ferry services this year.
Previously, both the MV Lord of the Isles and the MV Hebrides, which connects Lochmaddy and Uig, suffered the same problem: a broken fire safety system.
Lochboisdale ferry part of an ‘aging fleet’
CalMac’s managing director, Robbie Drummond, has said that these problems are the predictable results of an “ageing fleet”.
“We’re going to be facing more resilience issues,” he said earlier this year. “The vessels are only going to be older.”
So, without new ferries to strengthen the fleet, the problems will continue. But the Scottish Government has so far been unable to provide those resources.
The construction of two new ferries, MV Glenn Sannox and Hull 802, has been embroiled in controversy.
Originally commissioned in 2015 from struggling shipyard Ferguson Marine, the two ferries are now years late and over a hundred million pounds over budget.
And, as another year ends with CalMac struggling to keep their ferries afloat, it’s the islanders who are paying the price.
‘Not planning on coming home’
Mary Schmoller is chair of Stòras Uibhist, the community-owned managers of the South Uist Estate. To her, the MV Lord of the Isles’ latest issues are “the last straw”.
She says that people Christmas plans have been affected by the constant disruption, with people “not planning on coming home as the service is too unreliable”.
It’s “too unpredictable for families with children,” she says.
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
- Highlands & Islands Enterprise hails ‘significant opportunities’ of the Hebrides’ first large cruise port
- ‘People are trusting you with their stories’: Behind the scenes with Al Jazeera filmmakers in the Outer Hebrides
- Finding a home in the Hebrides: The couple who came back to care for Uist’s animals
