CalMac ferry MV Hebrides has returned to service today following a fire in the vessel’s engine room.
Emergency repairs were carried out on the ferry at Uig Harbour yesterday after an electrical component overheated while at sea.
MV Hebrides was sailing the open seas on Tuesday when the incident happened, filling the ferry’s engine room with smoke.
Staff onboard performed an emergency shut down, preventing a fire from breaking out.
Fire crews were scrambled to Uig Harbour following reports of a fire on the ferry.
The vessel, which was named by the late Queen Elizabeth II, was berthed on Skye’s north coast on Wednesday as CalMac investigated the fault.
All departing services were cancelled due to safety concerns.
This morning, services have begun departing from Uig again as MV Hebrides returns to service.
However, CalMac has imposed an amended timetable, warning customers of potential disruption or cancellations at short notice.
The first service will depart Uig at 11am bound for Lochmaddy, where it is due to arrive in port at 12.45pm.
The return service will depart Lochmaddy at 1.15pm and arrive in Uig one hour and 45 minutes later.
This evening, one further service will operate between the two ports, ahead of a final service to Tarbert this evening.
A CalMac spokeswoman said: “MV Hebrides returned to service on an amended timetable today following an assessment and repairs.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience that has been caused to customers, and thank them for their patience.”
Vessel shortages
CalMac bosses have stressed that they are facing challenging times due to a shortage of vessels.
Ongoing delays in the dry dock and technical issues affecting several major vessels have forced the ferry operator to make a series of temporary changes to mitigate disruption where possible.
Services between Mallaig, Oban and Lochboisdale will be cancelled between April 5 and May 13 as vessels are re-deployed elsewhere on the network.
Additional daily services will be made to the Sound of Barra during this time.
Crossings between Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbert, Coll and Tire as well as the Small Isles are also set to be impacted by the temporary changes.
MSP for the Western Isles, Alasdair Allan, slammed CalMac’s decision to remove the ferry service between Lochboisdale and Mallaig for five weeks as “utterly unacceptable”.
He said: “South Uist consistently suffers the highest rate of cancellations of any island community, and they have drawn the short straw yet again.
“Businesses are urging CalMac to reconsider this decision, questioning why they are unable to at least provide a weekly or bi-weekly Lochboisdale service during this disruption period.
“Given the abysmal state at present of CalMac’s service to this community, I have also requested an urgent meeting with the new transport minister to discuss the ramifications of today’s utterly unacceptable announcement.”
Councillor Uisdean Robertson, chairman of transportation and infrastructure with the Western Isles Council, labelled the plans “scandalous and disastrous,” and called for an independent inquiry.
He added: “This disastrous plan from CalMac to focus all the economic harm on Uist of the failure of government and its agencies to successfully invest in new fleet must be reconsidered and reconsidered quickly.
“There must also be a full independent inquiry to establish why CalMac’s winter maintenance process has failed so spectacularly this year.”
CalMac’s chief executive Robbie Drummond stressed they are doing everything they can to reinstate services back to normal as soon as possible.
He said: “Our service continues to be affected by delays to the annual overhaul schedule and its subsequent impact on vessel deployment.
“With no spare vessels, it is a challenging period for our customers, and we apologise for the disruption this is causing, particularly at the start of the tourist season.
“We are focused on returning those vessels which have required extended repairs back to service as soon as possible and returning to a normal service as quickly as we can.”
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