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MV Clansman will not be repaired on time 19/7/10
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The broken down Barra ferry will be out of action for longer than expected adding to islanders’ anger over the chaos caused to the local economy.
The MV Clansman suffered a major technical fault on June 17 but lengthy repairs at Greenok have now encountered difficulties.
The ship normally runs out of Oban to Castlebay and Lochboisdale. The island ports
are being serviced by a temporary timetable. The MV Hebridean Isles is being used
on the route but she is a smaller, slower vessel resulting in upset from passengers
and the business community. Some disgruntled would-
Phil Preston, Managing Director of Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) said:
“The specialised service engineers provided by engine manufacturer MAK to undertake the repairs to MV Clansman's crankshaft, have encountered a
problem while re-
vessel's return to service. It is too early to say how long that delay
will be, but every effort will be made to keep it to a minimum.
“We share everyone’s frustration that we are not able to provide our full
service and are grateful for the patience and understanding of our
customers while we work this through.”
“As previously stated, the current fault is one of the worst ever
experienced by CalMac and due to the complexity of the repair we have
always been reluctant to give a definitive completion date. The most
recent problem highlights the necessity of this caution.
“We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused, and know this further
delay will be disappointing for many, but we can assure everyone that we
are doing everything we can to minimise the disruption to services.
“A temporary timetable for the routes affected has been in place for some
time and all indications are that we are getting people to where they want
to be, albeit that some flexibility in their travel plans has been
required.
“Worldwide searches for vessels to provide cover have been unsuccessful
and we therefore have no option than to make the most of the fleet we have
at our disposal.
“Although only one vessel has been taken out of service,
it serves several island communities and we have had to ensure that no
island is left without a ferry service when making alterations to the
timetable.
“Although our resources are stretched, we are continuing to review the
situation on a daily basis and should an opportunity for providing
additional capacity present itself we will certainly consider doing so,
but I must stress that our options are severely limited and will only ever
be a stop gap until the MV Clansman returns to service. We will give
further updates when we have them.”