Delay to Caledonian Isles’ return after additional work discovered

MV Caledonian Isles departed for its annual refit on January 5 and was expected back this week on Thursday January 25.

However in echoes of last year, when the 31-year old ferry was delayed well into April, additional work is now required to get the vessel into seaworthy condition before it can return to service.

A CalMac spokesperson said: “I regret to inform you that we have identified increased work scope on MV Caledonian Isles, MV Isle of Mull and MV Coruisk during annual overhaul periods. This has extended the period that they will be unavailable for service, and we are reviewing vessel deployment on some routes across the network.

“Please be assured that we are liaising with our partners to establish a schedule for repairs to be completed and expect to be able to share a timeline this week.

“We will contact customers with affected bookings once we understand the impact to the services, and would like to thank customers for their patience throughout this period of disruption”.

At the time of going to press on Wednesday, CalMac had not provided any information on an expected return date or the scope of work required on MV Caledonian Isles. However, at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop, told MSPs that the vessel would be out of service for around five weeks for steel work repairs.