THE owners of Ardrossan Harbour have issued an update after further dive inspections were carried out on a berth at the terminal which was shut last week on safety grounds.

The 'Irish berth' at the harbour has been closed to all marine traffic since January 18.

And Peel Ports say it'll be the end of January before they have enough information to decide whether it's safe to bring the berth back into operation.

The company insisted: "Safety must always be our priority."

The statement followed criticism of Peel Ports by three local MSPs over issues with Ardrossan Harbour, which severely hit the ferry service to Arran.

Cunninghame North MSP Kenneth Gibson said his constituents were "beyond frustrated" at the lack of communication and urgency from the company.

And Labour West Scotland MSP Katy Clark criticised Peel Ports for providing "scant information" about the seriousness of the issues that led to the decision to close the berth.

The closure decision last week forced the withdrawal from the Ardrossan-Brodick service of the relief ferry MV Alfred - because that is the only Ardrossan berth that the vessel, a catamaran chartered from private company Pentland Ferries, is able to use.

Since then the route has been affected by weather and mechanical troubles - and by the news this week that the route's regular ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, will not be returning to service from its annual overhaul this week as planned, but until the beginning of March at the earliest.

A spokesperson for Peel Ports told the Herald: “As part of routine maintenance, a temporary pause to service has been put in place at Ardrossan Harbour’s Irish berth to allow further dive inspections to take place.

"We expect the outcome of these inspections to be available by the end of the month, at which time we will take a decision on the continued operation of the berth.

“The main Arran berth is fully operational, however recent extreme weather conditions have further impacted services.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to users of the ferry service at this time, however safety must always be our priority.”

Services between Ardrossan and Brodick were suspended from Sunday afternoon - initially due to weather, and then after a fault was found in the main starboard engine on the 40-year-old MV Isle of Arran, which is providing overhaul cover on the route.

MV Isle of Arran returned to service on Wednesday afternoon.

The 'Irish berth' is so called because it was once used by passenger, and later freight, services to Northern Ireland, as well as to the Isle of Man. 

The link with Ireland ended in January 2001 when P&O moved its Ayrshire terminal for the freight-only service from Ardrossan to Troon.

But the Troon freight service ceased in 2013, and the Troon to Larne passenger ferry was withdrawn three years later.