Campbeltown ferry service on course for 2024 return
Hopes are high that Campbeltown’s seasonal ferry service to Ardrossan will resume this year after being scrapped for the whole of 2023.
There were concerns that the closure of the Irish berth at Ardrossan Harbour could affect sailings on the route, or that a lack of vessel availability caused by disruption across CalMac’s ferry fleet could impact the service which is due to re-start on April 25.
But a CalMac spokesperson this week told us that the company’s aim is to operate the service “as scheduled”, but warned: “Running a full service across our whole network is dependent on the successful completion of our extensive annual overhaul programme for vessels, which is ongoing.
“The permanent closure of the Irish berth at Ardrossan has already caused significant impact to our Arran services and due to both vessels now needing to operate to the Arran berth, we are evaluating the impact on timetables for the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service.
“Any changes will be communicated with the community as soon as possible.”
The spokesperson added: “We are sorry that issues across the CalMac network meant we could not run the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service last year. From later this year, however, we are looking forward to welcoming six major and 10 small vessels into the fleet, which will build capacity and resilience across our network.”
Councillor John Armour, chairman of the Campbeltown ferry committee, is also cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the service resuming this year.
He said: “The Campbeltown to Ardrossan service is scheduled to run again this summer, however, we are all aware of the problems on the ferry network, throughout the Clyde and the islands and know that, as our service is not considered a lifeline service, we are usually the first to be impacted.
“Until the new ferries are in operation, there is always the danger that the Campbeltown route will suffer, but we can but hope we can get as trouble-free a service as possible during this summer.
He added: “The closure of the Irish berth should not impact as the main berth at Ardrossan is still in operation.”
Councillor Armour said initial sea trials of the MV Glen Sannox, one of CalMac’s new vessels, “look to have gone very well”, adding: “Hopefully this continues and the vessel is in service later this year. That in itself will help in ensuring the Campbeltown service is more resilient.”
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