Hopes rise Sound of Harris ferry lift will finally be fixed
16 June 2025
Engineers are expected to work on repairing the broken lift onboard CalMac ferry,
MV Loch Portain.
A new motor has been sourced to replace a defective component and the engineer was
due to attend the vessel to commence repairs.
All going well, the lift could be operational tomorrow (Tuesday) with the vessel
moving towards returning to her full timetable with the reinstatement of cancelled
sailings.
If not the amended Berneray-Leverburgh timetable will continue. The amended timetable
allows her crew to support passengers who require assistance and meets statutory
requirements for crew hours of rest.
For the past five months the lift has been out of order, mainly due to control system
issues. The issue was reported in January impacting people with reduced mobility.
The lift was fixed recently but then a motor unrelated to the control system failed.
Increased capacity on the link - which would have seen an extra three return sailings
a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, typically the busiest days between Berneray
and Leverburgh - has yet to commence because of her onboard passenger lift broken
down immediately following a repair.
Instead of ramping up to cope with rising demand for inter-island travel, capacity
on the Sound of Harris route was severely restricted when the smaller and slower
MV Loch Bhrusda was brought in as a relief vessel for ten days while work on Loch
Portain’s jet propulsion units were carried out. The Brusda can only carry up to
18 cars, nearly half the figure of the designated vessel.
The Sound of Harris ferry crossing has been operating at under capacity
