Arran’s main ferry could be out of service until late March

The long-delayed Glen Sannox was due to be handed over last month, but some issues that arose during acceptance trials resulted in another delay.

Once delivered, CalMac will carry out crew familiarisation trials and the ship will not carry passengers until January at the earliest. Other vessels will also be out of service for scheduled winter maintenance.

The last time CalMac received a new large ship from ferries procurement company CMAL was in 2015, and many of its ships are now well beyond their expected service life.

Last week CalMac looked into chartering MV Ben-My-Chree from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, but berthing trials on the Arran route were unsuccessful.

Services to Arran are currently being maintained by MV Isle of Arran – sometimes nicknamed the “Auld Trooper” as it entered service in 1984 – and the chartered catamaran Alfred.

Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said the latest MV Caledonian Isles delay was “yet another devastating blow for the residents of Arran and CalMac ferry users”.

“The SNP’s incompetence has left betrayed islanders with an ever-ageing vessel which is undergoing yet more lengthy repairs, whilst the new Glen Sannox is still nowhere to be seen,” he said.

“The continued absence of the Caledonian Isles will now impact the entire ferry network and, with the MV Hebridean Isles on its way to the scrap heap, there is simply no spare capacity in the network.”

CalMac has a winter deployment plan in place through until Friday 15 November and the new plan will take effect from Saturday 16 November.

It will be published by Wednesday 13 November.