Island communities are facing further disruption to ferry services ahead of what operator CalMac has described as a “challenging period”.
A revised winter timetable has been published after repairs to one of the fleet’s biggest ferries were delayed.
The ageing MV Caledonian Isles was due to re-enter service on November 20, after more than eight months out of action.
However, a series of new defects were discovered after the vessel was drydocked on the eve of its return.
It was found that repairs were needed to its stern tube bearings and sections of steelwork in two areas of the vessel, meaning the vessel could now be on the sidelines until March.
The ferry operator has published an amended winter schedule, in which it says key requests from different communities on the West Coast have been delivered.
The revised timetable will see sailings between Troon and Brodick suspended for a week in February, and a risk of cancellations on the Oban-Colonsay route in February and March.
It will also see reduced capacity on the Ardrossan-Brodick and Oban-Craignure routes, as well as reduced services to Lochboisdale on South Uist and Tarbert on Harris.
CalMac said following “feedback” from islanders and businesses, the revised timetable includes an extension of the Claonaig-Lochranza service on Arran, and a weekly return direct to Lochboisdale from Oban.
Scotland’s transport minister, Fiona Hyslop, last week warned that Islanders were facing a “challenging and difficult” winter because of potential disruption to ferry services.
“Ministers and officials continue to push CalMac to ensure all options to expedite repairs are being considered,” she said.
“That’s the difficult balancing act in what is going to be a challenging and difficult winter.”
A CalMac spokesperson said that direct services across the network will continue, although they agreed that the winter period will be “challenging”.
They said: “Whilst this is a challenging period, our revised deployment plan reflects our efforts to take on board the wide range of feedback we received from islanders and businesses and should allow us to maintain lifeline services and meet demand across all routes on the network.
“All islands will maintain a direct service under this plan, and we are committed to supporting local communities throughout this period of disruption.”
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