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CalMac to trial Isle of Man ferry on Arran route

CalMac is anticipating a difficult winter season and is looking at options to maintain services.

The main Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, has been out of action since February and repairs to a new fault with a gearbox are expected to take at least another fortnight.

MV Hebridean Isles is due to be retired next month as it needs recertification and it is not economical to maintain the ship any longer.

The dual-fuel ship Glen Sannox, being built at the Ferguson shipyard, was due to be handed over two weeks ago, but a revised delivery date has yet to be confirmed.

CalMac will then have to carry out crew familiarisation trials and the new ship is booked in for two weeks of annual maintenance inspections in December, so Glen Sannox is unlikely to be in service before January.

Other large vessels in the CalMac fleet will also have to be withdrawn for scheduled annual maintenance over the winter.

CalMac is already chartering one vessel, the catamaran Alfred, to maintain services to Arran, at a cost believed to be £1m per month.

The state-owned ferry operator has only received one new large vessel, the Loch Seaforth, in the past decade, and many of its 10 largest ships are now beyond their expected service life.


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