Customer Update - Mallaig - Lochboisdale (South Uist) services
Customer Update, Mallaig - Lochboisdale (South Uist) services
Updated 17 October 2024
Within our last update to customers, we indicated we'd share a further update with you before 17 October regarding service plans and vessel deployment on the network. We're now able to share the latest information with you.
Latest information on South Uist service plans
A combined service for South Uist and Mull will continue to be operated by MV Isle of Mull until the morning of Friday 18 October.
From Sunday 20 October, MV Isle of Mull will operate a combined service for South Uist and Barra up to Friday 15 November. View timetable., and more details can be found on the Service Status & Information page for this route.
The combined service ensures that during the period of extended repairs to one of our major vessels, MV Caledonian Isles, which has now run on into the winter overhaul period, we can preserve a service for both routes until at least Friday 15 November inclusive.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking for travel for the period above, we will contact you should your booking be affected. We will be working through reservations 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.
Wider context on the need for vessel redeployment
MV Caledonian Isles - one of our major vessels on the network - is still undergoing unforeseen repairs. We anticipate that she will return to service by Wednesday 20 November, although the repairs are complex, and this date is subject to change. As this work has run into our winter overhaul period, it has meant a period of extended vessel redeployment around the network. The latest phase of this has meant implementation of a combined service for South Uist and Barra from 19 October - 15 November.
An additional note on winter timetables from 5 January 2025
Following on from our last update, we can confirm that timetables for Oban/Mallaig - Lochboisdale for the period 5 January - 27 March will be published to view on our website on Thursday 17 October and customer bookings for this period will open on Tuesday 29 October at 12noon.
Thank you for your continued patience
Again, we sincerely apologise to our customers and communities who are and have been affected by this disruption. Our focus remains on protecting services and minimising disruption across the network, with the vessels we have available.
Thank you for your continued patience while we do this.
Updated 08 October 2024
We want to share the latest information with customers regarding our services to and from Mallaig / Lochboisdale, South Uist.
Latest information on South Uist service plans
A combined service for South Uist and Mull will continue to be operated by MV Isle of Mull until the morning of Friday 18 October when MV Lord of the Isles is scheduled to return to the South Uist service for the remainder of the summer timetable period (20 October 2024). However, there are weather disruptions expected, as always, our Service Status & Information pages will keep you up to date with the very latest details on sailings times for this period. You can also follow our X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and subscribe to our SMS text subscription services.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking for travel for this period, we will contact you should your booking be affected. We are working through bookings in date order of sailing, prioritising Friday 11 October and Saturday 12 October in the first instance.
We really appreciate your patience with our teams.
While this work is underway, it may seem that some sailings are not available to book / amend. Bookings and amendments between Friday 11 October and Friday 18 October are currently closed. This is temporary. Please do check back.
An important note on vessel deployment across the network
MV Lord of the Isles was redeployed to support services elsewhere on the network while MV Caledonian Isles, which ordinarily operated on our Arran services undertook further unforeseen repairs. It is expected this vessel will remain out of service until mid November at the earliest.
We are now reviewing our vessel deployment plan for the winter timetable period in light of this news. As other major vessels enter and exit annual maintenance, there is likely to be a need for regular changes to vessel deployment.
As always, we aim to keep you informed. Our next update on vessel deployment will be by Thursday 17 October.
We are sorry for the inconvenience
We apologise sincerely for the disruption to the service - and thank you for your patience and support while vessels were redeployed to support services elsewhere on the network.
Updated 01 October 2024
We are keen to provide you with the latest information regarding our services to and from Mallaig / Lochboisdale.
Latest information on South Uist service plans
We have reviewed our vessel deployment options to provide a Mallaig-Lochboisdale service. From Thursday 3 October, MV Isle of Mull will operate a combined service for Craignure and Lochboisdale to the timetable which is available on the route's Service Status and Information page.
In the meantime, MV Lord of the Isles will remain redeployed to Islay services until at least, Wednesday 9 October. As outlined below, this is while MV Hebridean Isles, which ordinarily operates the Islay route, is deployed to support services on Arran at a time when MV Caledonian Isles is undertaking repairs and MV Isle of Arran goes through annual overhaul which cannot be delayed.
Customer booking
If you have a booking for travel for this period, we will contact you should your booking be affected. We are working through bookings in date order of sailing, prioritising Thursday 3 October and Friday 4 October in the first instance. We really appreciate your patience with our teams.
While this work is underway, it may seem that some sailings are not available to book / amend. This is temporary. Please do check back.
Keep up to date with the latest information
As always, our Service Status & Information pages will keep you up to date with the very latest details. You can also follow our X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and subscribe to our SMS text subscription services.
We are sorry for the inconvenience
We apologise sincerely for the disruption and cancellation to the service over the previous week.
Our teams have been working hard to find solutions to support services with the vessels available. Thank you for the patience you have shown them during this challenging period.
Update 24 September 2024, 17:15
We want to share with you details about significant disruption on our network which will, unfortunately, result in cancellations on our Mallaig - Lochboisdale (South Uist) route effective from Wednesday 25 September.
This disruption is due to a technical problem with MV Caledonian Isles, which ordinarily operates the Ardrossan - Brodick (Arran) service, that has resulted in the vessel being removed from service for repairs.
Following a careful review of our vessel deployment options, and consultation with the affected communities, this disruption will have a knock-on effect on services to/from Arran, Islay and South Uist.
Effect on South Uist services
Wednesday 25 September
MV Lord of the Isles will operate an amended 07:00 Lochboisdale - Oban sailing (diverted from Mallaig), and the 13:50 Mallaig - Lochboisdale sailing will be cancelled.
Thursday 26 September - Wednesday 2 October (inclusive)
All Mallaig - Lochboisdale sailings will be cancelled.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking which is affected by this disruption, our teams be in touch with you directly. We're contacting customers in date order of travel. This work will take time, so please do be patient - we really appreciate it. We want to make you aware that space on alternative routes is very limited, and that we'll need to prioritise lifeline goods and freight on these alternatives. However, please be assured that we'll do everything we can to support you.
Passenger Rights
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.
Customers are advised that this disruption is due to technical reasons, and therefore the following Passenger Rights criteria apply (within the parameters detailed at the Passenger Rights section of our website):
Snacks, meals and refreshments
Overnight accommodation
Additional mileage incurred
Compensation based at a percentage rate of the ticket price you paid for the disrupted leg of your journey
Find out what you may be entitled to in the event of a disruption or cancellation to your sailing at the Passenger Rights section of our website, which also includes a link to our online claim form.
Support for South Uist services
We are currently investigating the possibility of operating additional sailings on our Sound of Barra route, between Ardmhor (Barra) and Eriskay, in order to facilitate connection opportunities with the Castlebay (Barra) - Oban service. This will depend on crew availability, and we will provide more details as soon as they are available.
We are also continually reviewing our vessel deployment options, and monitoring repairs to MV Caledonian Isles closely.
This vessel deployment plan will remain in place up to and including Wednesday 2 October - however, should MV Caledonian Isles be able to return to service before then, vessels will revert to their original routes as quickly as possible.
Vessel deployment decisions
Unfortunately, we do not have spare vessels within the fleet we operate so, during periods of significant disruption, we have to make difficult decisions regarding vessel deployment. There are no easy options, and we understand the impact of these decisions on our customers, and the communities that we serve.
The two vessels which ordinarily operate the Ardrossan - Brodick (Arran) service are both unavailable - MV Caledonian Isles is undergoing repairs for a technical issue, and MV Isle of Arran is required to undergo its annual overhaul - an activity which cannot be delayed due to the vessel's certification dates
As a result, MV Hebridean Isles, which is normally the second vessel on the Kennacraig - Islay route, is being redeployed to the Arran route.
Consequentially, MV Lord of the Isles, which normally operates the Mallaig - Lochboisdale (South Uist) service, is being redeployed to Islay to temporarily replace MV Hebridean Isles.
The vessel deployment plan for this period of disruption has been evaluated against our Route Prioritisation Framework - and community feedback from across the network. This framework guides decision making around services on our major vessel routes during periods of disruption. You can find out more about this, including details of a recent public consultation on proposed changes to the framework, here.
We've shared more details for these services in individual route updates on our website:
Keep up to date with the latest information
As always, our Service Status & Information pages will keep you up to date with the very latest details. You can also follow our X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and subscribe to our SMS text subscription services.
We are sorry for the inconvenience
We regret that these redeployments have resulted in cancellations to the Mallaig - Lochboisdale services.
Our teams are doing everything they can to restore services to normal as soon as possible, and to support customers who will be affected in the coming days. This is also a challenging time for them, and we know you'll show kindness when interacting with them.
We are so sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers, and the affected communities.