MV Lord of the Isles expected to return next week

To cover her absence operating between Mallaig on the mainland and Lochboisdale on South Uist, CalMac put extra sailings on from Uig-Lochmaddy on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. From Friday onwards, extra sailings were added across the Sound of Barra which aligned to the Oban-Castlebay timetable.

This week, MV Isle of Mull has provided relief on top of the extension of extra  Sound of Barra sailings. Extra sailings to Sound of Barra will now continue until the end of Tuesday, and CalMac's booking data indicates that the vast majority of customers can be accommodated via the amended timetable. MV Isle of Mull will return to operating her normal timetable on the Mull route.

MV Lord of the Isles, which is one of CalMac's largest vessels, diverted to Armadale port on Skye after a fire broke out in the starboard engine room and disabled the engine. It was quickly extinguished by the crew and the vessel sailed to Armadale using its port engine. It has been in a repair berth in Greenock since Friday afternoon.

Finlay MacRae, CalMac's Head of Operations, said: "Since the fire onboard MV Lord of the Isles which disabled the engine, our team has been working exceptionally hard to minimise disruption to services to and from South Uist. Contingency sailings have been in place since the day after the fire and will continue until MV Lord of the Isles returns.

"Our contingency, with extra timetabled services across the Sound of Barra and customers moved to sailings via Skye, will allow us to provide an alternative to many booked passengers in the coming days. Everyone at CalMac appreciates there has been concern on South Uist about the service and I'd like to thank the local community for their patience and support over the past week and in particular local commercial customers on Uist who, where possible, have delayed travel to allow us to prioritise those who need to travel urgently.

"Repairs are now progressing on the vessel, and we anticipate those will complete by Monday. She will need time to sail north to resume service, so we expect her back by Wednesday at the latest."

The latest sailing information for South Uist is available on the CalMac website, and CalMac will provide a further update on MV Lord of the Isles and the service on Monday 19 August.