CalMac's biggest ferry Loch Seaforth returns to service

CalMac's largest ferry has resumed sailings after a fault led to two days of disrupted services.

MV Loch Seaforth had been out of action since Monday evening after an engine control fault on approach to Ullapool.

The state-owned operator said sea trials had now been completed following repairs and the 17:30 Stornoway sailing was able to go ahead.

The ship is the main vessel linking the Isle of Lewis to the mainland.

CalMac had put on extra sailings between Skye and Harris - which can be accessed from Lewis - but a shortage of vessel capacity meant it had limited options to provide relief services.

Three other large CalMac ships - MV Caledonian Isles, MV Hebridean Isles and MV Clansman - are currently out of action due delays in completing overhauls and repairs.

CalMac said engineers and specialist contractors had worked around the clock to the fix the problem with MV Loch Seaforth.

Chief executive Robbie Drummond said the fault involved sensor and control equipment for the ship's propulsion control and monitoring system.

"These components were replaced and tested through sea trials, where all modes of operation were successfully proven on completion of repairs, confirming the problem has been resolved," he said.

Helen Sandison, who runs the Western Isles Cancer Care Initiative, said this week's disruption had caused particular anxiety for cancer patients who needed to travel to Inverness for hospital treatment.

Travel difficulties have been compounded because some Loganair island flights from Inverness have been suspended due to industrial action and are not due to resume until 24 April, even though the dispute has been resolved.

Ms Sandison told BBC Scotland's The Nine: "We had one service user today who was due to start chemo in Inverness.

"They were already disrupted because of the Loganair flights to Inverness have been disrupted for the past few weeks, so they were having to travel by ferry and book an overnight stay which they wouldn't have had to have done if the flights were operational.

"That chemo tomorrow has been cancelled - it's an added stress and worry for a patient who was ready to start their treatment."

CalMac said it had an urgent medical appointment process which always gives such patients priority including taxi connections if they are unable to travel on foot. It said it understood this particular appointment was cancelled after the patient had arrived on the mainland.

Priority on extra sailings was given to freight including food, medical supplies, animal feed and time sensitive loads, with any remaining space offered to general traffic.

CalMac recently warned the next two years would be "challenging" for islanders as the operator tries to maintain services with an ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet. About half of the largest vessels are beyond their expected operational life.

The first of two long-delayed ferries being built in Inverclyde will not be delivered until the autumn. Four other large ferries have been ordered from a shipyard in Turkey but it will be late 2024 before the first of those - destined for the Islay route - is handed over.

The Scotch Whisky Association told the BBC that distilleries on Islay and Jura were facing major problems because of reduced or uncertain ferry services.

Director of strategy Fraser Grieve told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "For our distilleries, that has become a real challenge, and we are having to operate hand to mouth, in terms of knowing if our goods can get off the island with timetables and capacity not confirmed until just a few days before sailings take place.

"In terms of distilleries, they require a constant supply of barley, of tankers to take the spirit off the island, so we're looking at around 190 movements a week to and from Islay. It's really important to sustain those deliveries to grow the economy on these islands."

The Herald newspaper has reported that the return of MV Caledonian Isles to the busy Arran route has now been delayed until early next week, meaning the island faces another weekend with the smaller MV Isle of Arran operating a single-vessel service.

Sailings between Lochboisdale on South Uist and the mainland will be cancelled for several weeks from Sunday because of a shortage of available vessels.