Veteran CalMac ferry Isle of Arran returning after six-week repair hiatus

A spare part had to be specially made to fix 42-year-old Isle of Arran, which has been tied up since March 25.

However, two of the operator’s other large vessels remain under repair, one of which is not due back until the end of the month.

Isle of Arran will be deployed to provide extra capacity on the main Mull route between Oban and Craignure, operating with the smaller Loch Frisa.

That will enable CalMac to move its Coruisk ferry back from the route on Tuesday to the Mallaig to Armadale in Skye service, which has been operated by a chartered passenger-only vessel.

Isle of Arran had been redeployed to the Mull route while Isle of Mull, its main vessel, was moved to Barra while that route’s ferry, Isle of Lewis, is repaired.

The work on Isle of Arran involved the installation of new couplings on its bow thruster manoeuvring aid, which had to be manufactured to order because of the vessel’s age and lack of available parts.

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A CalMac spokesperson said: “Isle of Arran’s return benefits two routes as it allows us to increase capacity on Mull and get Coruisk back to Mallaig-Armadale.”

Meantime, its Hebrides ferry remains in Aberdeen for repairs to its bow door seal, more than two weeks after it should have returned from annual overhaul in Leith.

The fault was discovered a week ago as the ferry was returning to the west coast.

A third large ferry, Isle of Lewis, is undergoing steelwork repairs until the end of May which has already kept it out of action for three months.

CalMac’s fleet woes have reduced since last month when up to ten vessels were out of action at the same time while being repaired or undergoing scheduled maintenance, which it said had been unprecedented.

But chief executive Duncan Mackison has told The Scotsman it would remain “on the edge” of further major disruption until new ferries arrived from Turkey over the next nine months.