Ullapool harbour will fully reopen to vehicular traffic again on Monday after a four week closure.
Ullapool car ferry sailings back to normal after four week closure
17 May 2015
Work to replace the port’s linkspan to improve reliability and allow a greater range of vessels to berth has been completed on schedule, allowing freight and passenger vehicle services on the Stornoway route to resume.
Cal Mac ran a diverted service -
Cal Mac’s operations director, Drew Collier, confirmed: “With the upgrade complete the MV Loch Seaforth will be able to start its full passenger and freight service on the Stornoway Ullapool route.”
He added: “We are delighted that this work has finished on time and we have been able to reinstate normal service again when we said we would.
“I would like to thank all the passengers and hauliers who have been inconvenienced by this temporary diversion.”
Initially, the Ullapool linkspan was due to take six weeks but a revised scheduled sliced off a third of the time.
Ullapool harbourmaster Kevin Peach said: “I'm delighted that we have completed this upgrade on time despite the tight deadline.
“It will make a huge difference to the resilience of the port.
“We really appreciate everyone's patience during this unavoidable period of disruption, and many thanks to the project team for their hard work and unstinting commitment throughout.”
The Loch Seaforth actually used the linkspan for the first time on Friday after the Stornoway to Skye service was cancelled due to high winds.
Ullapool harbour cleared the decks to offer Cal Mac early use of the new vehicle linkspan for two special vehicle ferry sailings to allow a backlog of travellers to get to their destination.
The MV Clipper Ranger is due to dock at the new Ullapool linkspan on her freight run in the early hours of Monday.
Sunday is the final time the Skye diversion sea route will be used.