Frustration at further ferry postponement

Ferry users have reacted with frustration to the news that the Campbeltown-Ardrossan seasonal service has been further delayed until July 27 “at the earliest”.

 

CalMac has announced an additional delay to the return of MV Hebridean Isles, with the vessel being unavailable for service while work continues to repair the controllable pitch propeller issue.

 

A spokesperson said: “The vessel remains in dry dock in Troon while engineers work to resolve the issue.

 

“MV Isle of Arran will remain on the Islay route while Ardrossan-Brodick will continue to be served by MV Caledonian Isles and MV Alfred until July 27 inclusively.

 

“This further delay means that the Campbeltown ferry service will remain cancelled until July 27 at the earliest.”

 

This is the fourth postponement to the start of the 2023 service which was meant to begin on April 27, before being delayed until May 11, June 1 and then June 30.

 

Councillor John Armour, chairman of the Campbeltown ferry committee, told the Courier: “It is very disappointing that the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service is delayed once again although, with the well-publicised issues on the ferry network, it does not come as a huge surprise.”

 

He added: “The Campbeltown ferry committee has asked CalMac to consider a basic in-out service on a Friday or Saturday while the disruption to our service continues. This would at least allow visitors to the area an option to get to and from Kintyre the way they had planned on the ferry.

 

“However, this looks unlikely as, although it can easily dock in Campbeltown, we understand that the MV Alfred [chartered relief vessel] still needs slight modifications to its ramp to allow it to be used in Campbeltown for vehicles.

 

“We have been assured that as soon as the network issues are resolved, the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service will be up and running as per the published timetable.

 

“The news that six new ferries are already being built or at the advanced planning stage is good news but does not help in any way make up for the major problems that have occurred on the ferry network over the last few months, or indeed years, but it should mean a far more resilient and better service for Campbeltown in the next few years.

 

“The ferry committee will continue to make our voices heard to ensure this happens.”

 

Robbie Drummond, CalMac's chief executive, said: “Ongoing work to MV Hebridean Isles has so far not fixed the issue and I am sorry that this has not yet been resolved.

 

“This delay is causing network-wide disruption and means that we must make difficult decisions regarding services once again.

 

“As we do not have a return to service date, we have had to plan service delivery around its continued absence using the vessels we have available.

 

“We will reassess these deployment plans as soon as we have a date of return for MV Hebridean Isles.”