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7 February 2025
As per our previous update, MV Glen Sannox will be out of service from Monday 24 February to allow for a replacement of her anchor chain gypsy wheels. She is expected to return to service on Monday 3 March 2025.
During this period, MV Alfred will continue to operate her scheduled timetable and MV Isle of Arran will relocate from the Oban area to cover timetabled sailings between Troon-Brodick.
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.
Thank you to our customers for your support while we manage the needs of the network with the requirements for vessel maintenance and care.
MV Alfred, which serves the route between Troon – Brodick, will be in overhaul from 10-17 February – and we would like to let our customers know how we will support services to Arran during that period.
Following a review of service plans for the week – and to ensure we can meet capacity requirements across the network, a single vessel service will be in operation 10-17 February, with MV Glen Sannox operating three returns per day between Troon-Brodick. View timetable.
Although there will be a reduction in the frequency of sailings during this period – we expect that capacity will meet the predicted usage on the service.
MV Glen Sannox
MV Glen Sannox will require a short period out-of-service to allow for an anchor to be replaced. We expect to finalise a date for this work by the end of January and anticipate it will be after MV Alfred’s overhaul. We will share our plans with customers and the communities we serve as soon as we have further detail to share with you.
Thank you again for your support and understanding while we balance the needs of the annual overhaul period and the needs of the entire network.
Arran services to Brodick will operate solely to/from Troon from Monday 13 January, as per our previous communication last month. This will be the case until 27 March 2025.
As part of this, we are pleased to confirm that the new vessel MV Glen Sannox will enter service formally from 13 January – operating her maiden service from Troon – Brodick. This follows a successful period of familiarisation and trials.
Timetables
We have published the amended timetable for Troon-Brodick for the period 13 January 2025 – 27 March 2025 on our timetable page.
If you plan to travel between Troon – Brodick or you have a reservation in place, please see below and our customer FAQs for full details on customer information on what to expect you travel via Troon including car parking and the charges that apply, and details and timetables on shuttle bus connections between Troon railway station, Troon ferry terminal and Ardrossan Ferry terminal. View shuttle bus timetables.
Customer bookings
We have now contacted all customers who had previously made a booking, prior to 13 January 2025, for travel between Ardrossan-Brodick.
We strongly encourage customers to always make a reservation prior to travel from Troon.
We’re unable to take cash payments for tickets at Troon ferry terminal. If you are purchasing tickets at Troon ticket office (subject to availability), please do so using a card or contactless payment method. We accept MasterCard, Visa, Apple, Google or Samsung Pay.
Further details on vessel deployment
*We will provide further details on vessel deployment when they are available – this will include plans for deployment during MV Alfred’s overhaul between 10-17 February 2025.
Thank you to our customers for your understanding in the decisions we have made to best support services to/from Arran.
For the benefit of the wider network, Arran services to Brodick will operate solely to/from Troon from 13 January 2025 until 27 March 2025. Ardrossan-Brodick services will resume on 28 March 2025, when the summer timetable starts. We’ve shared details below to support customers planning to travel to/from Arran during this period.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking for travel between Ardrossan-Brodick from 13 January 2025 – 27 March 2025, we will be in touch with you with information confirming your travel to/from Troon (previously Ardrossan). We will be contacting customers in date order.
If you plan to make a reservation for travel to Arran for the period 13 January 2025 – 27 March, our booking system is currently being updated, and sailings may appear to be unavailable while this happens. This should be temporary. Please do check back shortly.
We strongly encourage customers to always make a reservation prior to travel from Troon.
We’re unable to take cash payments for tickets at Troon ferry terminal. If you are purchasing tickets at Troon ticket office (subject to availability), please do so using a card or contactless payment method. We accept MasterCard, Visa, Apple, Google or Samsung Pay.
Timetables
We will shortly publish an amended timetable for Troon-Brodick for the period 13 January 2025 – 27 March 2025 on our timetable page.
Customer information – travel via Troon
Our customer information page holds all the information you need to know about traveling from the port of Troon, including details on passenger assistance, and guidance for those traveling on foot or in vehicles.
The shuttle bus service which is currently in operation between Troon train station and Troon ferry terminal will continue. A shuttle bus between Troon and Ardrossan ferry terminals will also be in operation from 13 January 2025. Details of this will be confirmed soon.
In Arran, we are discussing bus timetables with local transport operators to highlight changes to the ferry timetable.
There will be a Caledonian MacBrayne staff presence at Ardrossan during the period, available to support customers who may still arrive at the port.
Additional information on deployment
We’re pleased to confirm with customers that the new vessel, MV Glen Sannox is expected to enter timetabled service on Monday 13 January 2025. MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred will operate from Troon, and MV Isle of Arran will be redeployed to support services in other parts of the network for the remainder of the winter timetable. Full details of her deployment will follow soon.
MV Alfred needs to be removed from service between Troon - Ardrossan during 10-17 Feb for her annual overhaul. We are reviewing deployment plans with a view to providing a service in addition to MV Glen Sannox for this period. We will provide further details to customers on the deployment plan during week commencing 6 January.*
We are hopeful that MV Caledonian Isles, who has been undergoing extensive repairs, will return to service on Ardrossan-Brodick for the start of the summer timetable, which begins on 28 March 2025.
Thank you to our customers for your continued support - and for your understanding while we make these changes for the benefit of the network.
We will provide an update to customers week commencing 23 December on vessel deployment and operation of our Arran service for the period of 13 January onwards.
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.