MV Lord of the Isles will return to the Ardrossan to Brodick ferry route at the weekend.
The 35-year-old ferry has been called back into service for Arran from Saturday, October 19 until Tuesday, October 22 after a spate of technical problems and maintenance issues hit the network.
CalMac will be operating an amended timetable when the vessel sails from Ardrossan at the weekend.
MV Lord of the Isles previously served the Ardrossan to Arran route in 2012, when the main vessel MV Caledonian Isles went in for its annual service.
It's now nine months since MV Caledonian Isles went in for its 2023 service - only for major problems to be discovered.
The MV Isle of Arran was brought in to cover the Arran route, with the MV Alfred operating to Brodick from Troon Harbour.
And the returning MV Caledonian Isles suffered a gearbox issue and had to go back for repairs.
The Caledonian Isles will now move to drydock on October 23 and is estimated to make a long-awaited return to the Arran service on Wednesday, November 20.
CalMac confirmed today: "MV Hebridean Isles will have to depart for Stornoway to cover freight runs during MV Loch Seaforth’s overhaul. She will depart on Saturday, October 19.
"MV Lord of the Isles will be redeployed to cover Ardrossan-Brodick services from Saturday October 19 to Tuesday October 22. MV Isle of Arran is on schedule to complete annual overhaul next week and will resume the service from Wednesday, October 23.
"MV Alfred will continue to operate Troon-Brodick. This two-vessel service will remain in place up to and including Friday, November. 15."
A CalMac spokesperson added: “We know amending timetables and combining services is disruptive, but we’ve analysed carrying data and bookings for this upcoming period and these indicate a shared service for Barra and South Uist will meet capacity requirements.
"Our priority is to provide services which meet the minimum requirements for every island during this challenging period.”
"CalMac has brought forward the bulk of MV Caledonian Isles annual overhaul so that the majority of the work is carried out whilst the overhaul of her port gearbox is ongoing. The vessel will move to drydock on October 23 for these to be carried out alongside the repairs to the gearbox.
"Allowing for engine alignment and sea trials, her estimated return to service date is Wednesday, November 20.
"MV Caledonian Isles was due to enter annual overhaul in January 2025 for approximately four weeks. Whilst she will still have to complete recertification surveys in the new year, the amount of time she is off-service for in early 2025 should be significantly less than four weeks."
The CalMac spokesperson added: “We want to make best use of the time we have with the vessel off-service and it is the prudent thing to do to carry out as much of this work as possible now.
"Whilst this does not alleviate service challenges in the short-term, we hope it will benefit us in the new year.”
For more updates on the service, visit here.
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