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13 November 2024
Following the news that MV Caledonian Isles, which previously operated services between Ardrossan-Brodick, requires further repairs, we have planned for the vessel being unavailable for the duration for the winter timetable period. And with this being the case, we have published a new vessel deployment plan for the period 16 November 2024 - 27 March 2025.
Below, we have shared the plan for Arran services from 16 November 2024.
MV Isle of Arran will operate the Ardrossan-Brodick route until 27 March 2025 and *MV Alfred will operate the Troon-Brodick route until 5 March 2025. *There will be no Troon - Brodick service between Monday 10 February - Monday 17 February while MV Alfred undertakes annual overhaul. Both services will operate the published timetable service.
An amended service will operate between Claonaig-Lochranza-Tarbert (Loch Fyne) up to and including Thursday 19 December. This will also cover Tarbert (Loch Fyne)-Portavadie at certain times of day - to transport young people to and from school. You can view details for this service on our timetable page for this route. We'll review the potential to continue the Claonaig-Lochranza service beyond 19 December at a later date.
This plan is subject to change should there be a change to vessel availability - either MV Caledonian Isles returning to service or the introduction of a new vessel. As always, we will keep customers informed.
Work is now underway to update the booking system - and while this is ongoing amendments and new bookings for some sailings are unavailable. This is temporary, so please do check back later.
If you have a reservation in the system that is affected by any of these changes, we will be in contact with you in date order of sailings.
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our Service Status & Information pages, X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by having one of the large vessels of the fleet out of service for this period. It has been a challenge for everyone affected and involved. The revised plans outlined above takes on board the feedback from customers and communities on how we manage this situation - and reflects our commitment to meeting your needs and maintaining a lifeline service across the network.
Ongoing investigations indicate that MV Caledonian Isles may be out of service until the end of March 2025. We are currently developing a vessel plan for any routes impacted by this delay until the end of the winter timetable. This will be published by Wednesday 13 November.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking which is affected, we'll be in contact with you directly in sailing date order.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
Within our last update to customers regarding both the service to Arran and the additional repairs to MV Caledonian Isles taking place during a busy overhaul period, we indicated we'd share a further update on services and plans with you before 17 October. We're now in a position to do that.
Firstly, we're keen to provide you with a picture on what to expect regarding service plans.
Since MV Caledonian Isles is still scheduled to undergo repairs until at least mid-November, MV Lord of the Isles will operate the service between Ardrossan and Brodick from Saturday 19 October to Tuesday 22 October. MV Hebridean Isles, which is currently providing cover on the service, will depart for Stornoway to cover the overhaul period for MV Loch Seaforth.
From Wednesday 23 October to Friday 15 November, MV Isle of Arran will operate the service following completion of annual overhaul. We anticipate that MV Caledonian Isles will resume service on this route from Wednesday 20 November.
MV Alfred will continue to operate the service between Troon - Brodick from Monday 21 October - Wednesday 20 November to the current published timetable.
If you have a booking for travel between Ardrossan - Brodick for the period above, we will contact you should your booking be affected. We'll be working through bookings in date order.
While work is underway to update the system, it may seem that some sailings are not available to book / amend. This is temporary. Please do check back.
Each year, our vessels must go through mandatory annual overhaul. This will include MV Caledonian Isles. To make the best use of time, much of the work which was due to be carried out during her next annual overhaul in early 2025 has been pulled forward and will now be carried out in the next few weeks, while she is in drydock to receive repairs to the port gearbox - the source of the current issue.
Following completion of these works, which will include the port gearbox overhaul, there will be a requirement for the gearboxes and engines to be realigned, once the vessel is afloat. Sea trials will then take place. This is estimated to take several days. We anticipate MV Caledonian Isles being back in service by Wednesday 20 November, although this date is subject to change.
She will still enter overhaul on January 2025 for recertification surveys.
Thank you for your continued patience while we work to support the return of MV Caledonian Isles to service.
We are focused on making the most appropriate use of the time while we have with her off-service. While we know this doesn't alleviate the current challenge short term, we hope it will benefit us in the new year. Again, we sincerely apologise to our customers and communities across the network who have been affected by this disruption.
We are very keen to keep you updated with the latest information on repairs to MV Caledonian Isles, and our plans to support services to and from Arran during her absence.
MV Caledonian Isles will be out of service until mid-November at the earliest. We've shared full details on the background to the repairs under the 'MV Caledonian Isles' heading below.
The current vessel deployment plan will remain in place until the end of the summer timetable period on 20 October 2024 - this means that MV Hebridean Isles will continue to operate the route between Ardrossan and Brodick and MV Alfred will remain on the Troon-Brodick service. View timetables for these services.
The coffee cabin will be open on MV Hebridean Isles, however, due to crew availability, there will be a reduced retail offering onboard.
If you have a booking for travel between Ardrossan - Brodick for this period, we will contact you should your booking be affected. We are working through bookings in date order of sailing, prioritising Thursday 10 and Friday 11 October in the first instance.
While this work is underway, it may seem that some sailings are not available to book / amend. New bookings and amendments for this service and Troon - Brodick between Thursday 10 and Sunday 20 October are currently closed. This is temporary. Please do check back.
As always, we'll keep our customers informed about the very latest service details on our Service Status pages, X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and through our SMS text subscription services.
Customers with existing bookings which are affected by service disruption retain certain rights and entitlements in line with The Merchant Shipping (Passengers' Rights) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. We've shared full details on this in our previous update below.
Since the last update, engineers have identified that the clutch outer sleeve in the port gearbox is damaged and must be replaced. Spares have been ordered, but they are on a long lead time, and we are now looking at alternative options to replace the damaged parts. We have also identified the need for repairs to the starboard stern tube. As outlined above, it will take until mid November at the earliest for this work to be completed.
MV Caledonian Isles is scheduled for her mandatory annual overhaul between 6 January 2025 and 3 February 2025. We are reviewing the works scheduled for this period and where feasible will complete as much of this as possible during the current repair. The vessel will still require a short period in dock in the new year, which is something we must adhere to. Where possible, we will reduce that window as much as we can by carrying out planned works between now and mid-November.
In light of this, we are revisiting our vessel deployment plan for the weeks and months ahead. We have a plan in place for the winter timetable, but this must also now account for the delay to MV Caledonian Isles, and we are reviewing all options open to us for the period.
We will provide a further update to customers on 17 October 2024.
It has been a long and challenging time for those communities who rely on MV Caledonian Isles - and we are disappointed to be sharing news which delay her return further. We share your disappointment. That said, we stay focused on minimising disruption to you wherever we can, and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding.