CalMac has announced further amendments to the first part of its winter timetable to maintain services.
With vessels heading for annual maintenance and ongoing repairs to MV Caledonian Isles, one of the largest in the fleet, CalMac is amending services.
The ferry operator has announced vessels will be redeployed across the network from Friday 18 October until at least Friday 15 November to meet anticipated and booked demand on major routes. The main change will see services operating to South Uist and Barra combined.
A CalMac spokesperson said:
“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 23 October 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 20 November.
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.
A 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.”