Council concern over broken ferry 24/2/14
The Comhairle has expressed concern about the run of breakdowns affecting the Stornoway ferry, MV Isle of Lewis.
Her latest problem which has taken her out of service involved rudder problem which means she does not have proper steering.
Last week, her turbo chargers were replaced, apparently following a breakdown while on the River Mersey, which postponed her return from drydock by a week.
She has also suffered a run of engine breakdowns which had disrupted the ferry service between Stornoway and Ullapool.
Western Isles Council transport chief John Mackay said: “It is disappointing that the Isle of Lewis has had to be taken out of service again.
“The travelling public are having to put up with a lot of cancellations due to adverse
weather and technical reasons and I would hope that the delay in the re-
The only replacement available is the MV Isle of Arran which takes 30 minutes longer on the Ullapool route and risks travellers missing their onward connections.
According to travellers, there is insufficient seating so passengers sit on the floor.
A Cal Mac spokesman said: “Our options for re-
“We are satisfied that the MV Isle of Arran can cope with projected traffic at present but are regularly reviewing the situation.”