Compensation calls grow as 'AWOL' Corran Ferry fails to return - again

Peninsular users of the Corran Ferry, run by Highland Council, are calling for an inquiry, free travel across Loch Linnhe, and compensation again, after the MV Corran missed yet another return date during 10 months AWOL, leaving the smaller, older MV Maid of Glencoul, which broke down for eight weeks from Easter, to cope with Scotland's busiest single vessel route.

 

Last October, the 22-year-old MV Corran departed for her annual overhaul, leaving the 48-year-old back-up vessel MV Maid of Glencoul on the Corran Narrows crossing that carries 270,000 cars each year. The Corran never came back. Why? You can read the full timeline, and council explanations, below.

 

The council first expected the MV Corran back in early April, but that date was pushed back to early June, then the end of June, then mid August, and, most recently, the end of August.

 

The stated causes include fixing the "23-year-old ramps and "cycloidal propulsion unit", recasting the crown-wheel-gear, "supply chain challenges", and now, "capacity constraints at the boat yard".

 

The council updated the public on August 3: "Unfortunately, due to capacity constraints at the boat yard, the MV Corran vessel is unlikely to be ready to return to service before the end of August. The council will provide more details for the return of the MV Corran once a definitive programme for her return to service can be confirmed."

 

While the MV Corran was away, the Maid broke down on Good Friday at Easter, due to a fault with the drive train. It returned eight weeks later, on June 3, when the Corran Ferry service resumed. Then, on June 28, the MV Maid of Glencoul broke down again, this time due to a steering system fault. On July 7, it resumed the Corran Ferry service.

 

Dr Michael Foxley, vice chairperson of Ardgour Community Council, said: "The MV Corran has now been AWOL for 10 months, resulting in chaos on the road when the Maid has broken down and an enormous negative impact on local businesses and communities.

 

"We were told the MV Corran was a top priority at the yard, yet we are now told that due to constraints at the yard, it will be, at least, the end of August before she returns. The reasons are inexplicable and unacceptable.

 

"As we await the next breakdown of the old and very busy Maid, this repair must be expedited with extreme prejudice."

 

Many online are sceptical the MV Corran will return before her annual refit this winter.

 

Ardgour resident and business owner Mary Ann Kennedy told us: "Highland Council keeps making promises and putting forward overly optimistic assessments to try to appease folk. But is is not working. We are back to demanding reparation."

 

Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, convened an emergency meeting in Strontian about the Corran Ferry on August 7. Ms Forbes said: "I cannot begin to express how utterly awful this debacle has been for local communities.

 

"Never have I seen such a stark example of how a rural Highland community can be so ill served and abandoned to ruin. Businesses and households are no longer warning about the potential danger to their existence - some have already shut.

 

"It is abundantly clear that the events of the past few months have taken their toll on these small Highland communities, and I am dismayed to hear of businesses that will be closing their doors at the end of this year due to the losses incurred, as well as residents who have decided to move away.

 

"I have sent a letter to the chief executive of Highland Council with a number of short, medium and long-term action points. I have also sought an urgent meeting with the chief executive and deputy chief executive, and will report back progress, and trust the council will treat it with the urgency it deserves."

 

The points include: "Highland Council to ask the present yard to dedicate their entire workforce to the MV Corran repairs – if this is not possible then enquire about the boat moving elsewhere to get the work done quicker."

 

They also ask Highland Council "to accept Police Scotland’s recommendation of a blanket 40mph speed limit on the A861 until the MV Corran is back in service", and that it orders a new diesel ferry. You can read more about that appeal here.

 

Why is the MV Corran 'AWOL'?

 

The five-minute Corran Ferry crossing, at the Corran Narrows between Ardgour to Nether Lochaber, cuts out miles and hours of travel for the peninsular communities of Ardgour, Morvern, Sunart, Acharacle, and Ardnamurchan, and connects to the Isle of Mull via the Ro-Ro CalMac ferry from Lochaline to Fishnish, a lifeline link when CalMac ferries between Oban and Craignure are full or disrupted.

 

Early in the New Year Ardgour Community Council warned - presciently - of an "impending crisis" at the Corran Ferry, due to "an increasing number of breakdowns", and "serious disruption" while the Maid was running, with "a reduced service for larger vehicles", and "frequent queues".

 

After four months with no update on the MV Corran's return, in March Highland Council said her refit took longer "due to extensive rebuilding of her 23-year old ramps".

 

“She has been delayed since January due to a problem found with one of the main Voith cycloidal propulsion units after it went away for planned servicing," Highland Council said. "We are waiting for the delivery of ordered parts so the unit can be rebuilt. We are optimistic that the MV Corran will be back in service early April.”

 

At the start of Easter, on Good Friday, the Maid broke down due to a fault with the drive train, and was towed away for repairs. "It is highly likely there will be no service for several weeks," the council said. "The main ferry, which is also undergoing repair (The MV Corran), may be back in operation first."

 

Within a week, on April 12, the council updated: "Staff have been working very closely with CalMac and thanks to their assistance, we are anticipating the MV Corran will now be back in service sooner than was originally predicted. This however will be in the region of six to eight weeks away."

 

At a crisis meeting on April 27 with six community councils, Ardgour, Morvern, Sunart, Acharacle, West Ardnamurchan and Nether Lochaber, The Highland Council said: "MV Corran repairs are still expected to be completed by early June. All efforts are concentrated on achieving that."

 

A major update in May followed a visit by council transport chiefs to WARTSILA in Glasgow, "where the parts are being assembled to repair the damage found with the propulsion unit of the MV Corran, which caused the outage of the vessel.

 

"Critical parts are still awaited from the supplier Voith, based in Germany. Whilst the first shipment will be with WARTSILA by the end of this week (May 27), the damage to the Crown Gear has meant that a new one must be recast, and this is not expected until later in June.

 

"Once all the parts are in place in Glasgow, the rebuild will commence, but it is clear that due to the supply chain challenges that are out with the control of the Council, the MV Corran will not be back in service until the end of June 2023 at the earliest. In the meantime, the MV Corran will be towed to the dry dock on Bute, so that other maintenance activity can take place whilst the parts are delivered."

 

Following repairs and successful sea trials, the Maid resumed vehicle and passenger crossings on June 3. Meanwhile, work to repair the MV Corran continued. "The first shipment of critical parts has arrived from the supplier Voith, based in Germany," the council said.

 

Come the end of June, the MV Corran's date was pushed back to mid August. The council updated on June 23: "The MV Corran is currently booked onto the slipway at Ardmaleish Boatyard in July to prepare for the fitting of the propulsion unit, an integral part that of which is currently being manufactured in Germany.

 

"The key issue remains with the crown-wheel-gear. Being a lifetime part, it is not available off-the-shelf and is having to be individually manufactured. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outwith the council’s control, the previous date for a return to service has had to be extended.

 

"The council is making all efforts to expedite the delivery of this part, but unfortunately there are capacity and supply chain challenges that are being experienced right across the maritime sector.

 

"When the part is delivered at the end of July, it will be fitted in early August and this will be followed by sea trials before the vessel returns home around the middle of August."

 

Then, on June 28, the MV Maid of Glencoul broke down again, this time due to a steering system fault. On July 7, the Corran Ferry service resumed.

 

Then the MV Corran's return date was pushed back again. The council updated on August 3: "Unfortunately, due to capacity constraints at the boat yard, the MV Corran vessel is unlikely to be ready to return to service before the end of August.

 

"The Highland Council is working to a return of the vessel as soon as possible but until then, the Maid of Glencoul vessel will continue providing the daily car and passenger ferry service across the Corran Narrows in Lochaber.

 

"The council will provide more details for the return of the MV Corran once a definitive programme for her return to service can be confirmed."

 

The Highland Council is currently advertising four jobs with a closing date of August 14 – for two ferry forepersons, a ferry engineer, and a ferry purser/boatmaster – to “stabilise” and “maintain” the service, following “resignations and retirements”.