Isle of Lewis sale

Isle of Lewis to be sold 4/6/14

The existing Stornoway ferry MV Isle of Lewis is earmarked to be sold within two years.

The ship which was specially built for the Stornoway to Ullapool route will be 21 years old then.

The 101-metre long vessel is due to be replaced by the new-build MV Loch Seaforth later this year.

For a period, the MV Isle of Lewis will be retained in Stornoway harbour as back-up until the Loch Seaforth beds into the busy Minch.

There are calls for her to be kept on in Stornoway to undertake the overnight freight run.

About four or five other islands are lobbying to have her from next year. Mull, for example, thinks she would help boost their ferry service.

There is also a suggestion that Cal Mac should introduce her into the fleet and shuffle the vessels around to deploy a suitable ferry to provide a permanent all-year Lochboisdale to Mallaig service.

However, the MV Isle of Lewis is not owned by Cal Mac.

The ship owner is Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and she is chartered out to the route operator Cal Mac Ferries which run the timetable.

CMAL said it will assess if the Isle of Lewis is surplus to requirements before disposing of her.