CalMac faces a difficult few weeks as it tries to maintain service while juggling scheduled winter maintenance slots and unexpected repairs that have left four of its 10 largest ships out of service.
MV Lord of the Isles, which normally serves South Uist, is currently in dry dock due a “small fault” with its steel plating close to the waterline, while MV Clansman is undergoing scheduled maintenance
The underlying issue is delays to vessel replacement with many vessels now well beyond their expected service life, but the situation should improve during the year as new ships arrive.
The first of four large ferries being built in Turkey, MV Isle of Islay, although delayed by more than a year, is expected to be handed over by the Cemre shipyard in the next few weeks before making the journey to Scotland.
The remaining three ships are due to follow on at six-monthly intervals, while MV Glen Rosa, earmarked for the Arran route, is currently due for completion by the Ferguson shipyard by the end of the year.
Work is also said to be progressing well on seven small ferries being built by a shipyard in Poland.
The charter of MV Alfred has provided CalMac with vital extra capacity while it awaits new vessels, which are procured by a separate government-owned firm CMAL, but the arrangement has lasted far longer than expected.
The cost of the charter, while it includes crewing costs and fuel, is now more than double the £14m paid by Orkney-based Pentland Ferries for construction of the ship by a Vietnamese shipyard in 2019.