Return of Arran's main ferry delayed indefinitely

Ferry operator CalMac has said it is "impossible to say" how long a ferry serving Arran will remain out of action due to a pressure issue.

MV Caledonian Isles has been unable to carry passengers since January 2024 due to a series of faults that have cost nearly £11m to fix.

The 32-year-old ship had been due to resume sailings from Ardrossan to Arran last week but sea trials revealed a problem with the ship's gearbox.

The operator said the ship would return to dry dock in the next week to resolve a pressure issue with the vessel's propulsion system.

CalMac said it was unable to confirm a return to service date until an inspection takes place, but sailings from Troon would still be available in the meantime with a two-vessel service of MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred.

MV Caledonian Isles was initially taken out of service in January last year after routine annual maintenance revealed serious steel corrosion.

The ship underwent months of major repair work in dry dock at Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside, which required removal of the ship's engines.

After the ship returned to Scotland in September, a gearbox and propeller fault were detected.

Further investigation at Dale's Marine in Greenock revealed the rear of the ship was twisted.

It had been due to return to the Arran route by the end of April, but this was repeatedly pushed back and the ship was expected to return to service last week.

The state-owned operator's chief executive officer Duncan Mackison said: "Everyone at CalMac is disappointed that MV Caledonian Isles isn't ready to carry passengers yet, and I know that disappointment will be shared by communities across our network and by those who travel to and from Arran regularly."

He said the inspection of the vessel would take a few days and until then, it was "impossible" to determine how long repairs might take.

Mr Mackison added: "But there is a range of possible scenarios going from the issue being resolved in a few days to it taking significantly longer.

"To give communities and customers certainty, we're removing MV Caledonian Isles from deployment plans for now and will provide a detailed update on any service impact early next week."

When it returns to service, MV Caledonian Isles will run from Ardrossan, the only ferry in the vicinity able to do so since the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox and its yet-to-be-delivered sister ship are too big to dock at the port.

Currently, passengers heading to Arran have to board the replacement ferries at Troon.

The Scottish government is investigating potentially buying the port at Ardrossan to make the necessary changes to allow both newer vessels to berth there, but talks are reported to have stalled.

The latest delay to the return of the MV Caledonian Isles will cause a lot of frustration and disappointment on both sides of the Firth of Clyde.

It means a further delay to the resumption of sailings between Ardrossan – the historic berth for the service - and Brodick.

Campaigners on Arran point out that the crossing from Ardrossan is shorter than the replacement crossing from Troon. The terminal in Ardrossan is next to a railway station so the onward journey is easier for foot passengers.

There is also concern over what the loss of the Arran service means to the local economy in Ardrossan.

The Scottish government insists it wants the Ardrossan to Arran service to stay. It is looking at options such as taking Ardrossan Harbour into public ownership so it can be upgraded to handle the Glen Sannox and the other new ferry due to come into service on the Arran route, the Glen Rosa.

But that is a longer-term issue.

In the short term, there is the matter of how quickly sailings from Ardrossan to Arran will resume.

The return of the Caledonian Isles has been put back a number of times already and it is impossible to say whether the latest delay will be significant or not.

But each delay adds to the fear of some campaigners that Troon will become the permanent home of the Arran service by stealth.