Stornoway ferry leaves for Liverpool 2/3/14
The broken MV Isle of Lewis has finally steamed back to Liverpool for repairs following serious steering problems.
The Stornoway ferry was taken out of service just hours after her return from a refit and repairs on the Mersey last month.
Faults with her rudder arose during her first commercial sailing on the Stornoway to Ullapool route following a three week absence.
Inspections and repairs to her rudder require her to be taken out of the water and the only drydock available at short notice is on Merseyside.
But the ship was stuck in Ullapool for over the past week as the problem was getting her there with her unsafe steering.
It is understood engineers carried out temporary work on her rudder while berthed at the Wester Ross port in recent days.
A crane was seen working at her aft end and the ferry was ballasted to lift up her stern up and allow a degree of access to her rudder.
She departed for Liverpool for a more detailed assessment of the fault, arriving on Sunday
Previously, a Cal Mac spokesman said: “The cause of the rudder issue is not known, and more detailed investigations will be carried out when she is in dry dock.
“It is too early to say when repairs will be completed and she can return to the route, but we will do everything we can to minimise her time out of service.”
The only ship available at present to cover the busy route is the much smaller MV Isle of Arran.