Ferry breaks down on busiest day 31/3/14
A significant breakdown of the biggest ship in the Caledonian Macbrayne fleet has struck on one of the busiest periods in the ferry calendar.
The Stornoway ferry, MV Isle of Lewis, has failed to sail since Sunday -
Bookings are at a peak with Western Isles’ pupils off school for the next two weeks. Hundreds of passengers have being disrupted by the fault which is yet to be precisely identified.
As the MV Hebrides is in drydock, the MV Isle of Arran is the only ship available to cover. She is being sent north to take over the route from Tuesday morning
On Sunday, the Isle of Lewis’ ship’s own engineers believed the technical fault so passengers were asked to board.
After an hour’s wait they were told to disembark and the ferry sailing was cancelled. Frustrated travellers then faced long queues to change tickets.
Cal Mac said the fault centred around an issue with a electronic control system.
A spokesman said specialist engineers have been despatched from the mainland to assess the situation.
He said: “The fault is with an electronic control system and specialist engineers are en route.
“We'll know more about how long she will be out of service once they have had a chance to investigate.
“We are hopeful it can be fixed quite quickly but are reluctant to give precise timescales until the engineers have arrived.
“In the meantime the MV Isle of Arran is leaving Islay and will be in Stornoway to
pick up the 0700 sailing tomorrow morning.
“We share everyone's frustration when
these situations arise and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Disrupted ferry traffic is being diverted through Harris and Skye on the smaller MV Clansman.
Cal Mac is laying on buses at both ends to take foot passengers to their intended destination.