Skye to isles ferry hit by second fault in days

The MV Hebrides required repairs to its firefighting system last week

Sailings on Caledonian MacBrayne's Skye Triangle have been disrupted for the second time in the space of a week.

The service's ferry, the MV Hebrides, has been withdrawn due to a reoccurrence of a problem with its CO2 firefighting system.

All sailings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between Uig on Skye, Lochmaddy on North Uist and Tarbert on Harris have been cancelled.

CalMac has issued an apology to customers and has advised them to travel via Lochboisdale-Mallaig or Stornoway-Ullapool.

It said additional sailings would also be run between Lochboisdale and Armadale.

But ferry operator warned space on these sailings was "extremely limited" because it was a time of peak summer demand.

Hebrides had only returned to service last Friday after repairs in Ullapool to the firefighting system.

CalMac said the ferry was now headed for a mainland yard for repairs and it would confirm an estimated timeframe for the work later.

Meantime, it has appealed for patience.

Head of operations Finlay MacRae said: "We recognise that this situation is very difficult and inconvenient for our customers, especially so soon after the most recent disruption, and we sincerely apologise to everyone affected and will do our best to find alternative options where these exist.

"While we know this process is time consuming and frustrating for customers, our staff are doing their very best to help and should not be subjected to aggression or violent behaviour."

Islanders have expressed frustration at the situation.

Amanda Leveson-Gower, who has run a small hotel on North Uist for about 27 years, said the ferry service had been in decline for 10 years, but had got worse in the last four mainly due to the age of the ferry.

She said the disruption was damaging the island's reputation as a tourist destination, with people having to sleep in their cars or travel from Skye to Inverness - a journey of almost 130 miles (209km) - to find overnight accommodation because the ferry had been cancelled.

She said: "People that have visited us nearly every year are now saying they cannot deal with the travelling."

The hotelier said there were also huge problems for islanders, with people unable to travel to the mainland for funerals and weddings and crofters being denied the chance to get lambs to markets.

One of Islay's ferries, the MV Hebridean Isles, was brought in to cover the Skye Triangle following disruption to sailings on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

Some sailings on the Hebrides were disrupted the previous week after a suspicious package was found while it was in Skye.

The ferry was evacuated.

Police investigated and found the package not to be suspicious.

In May, the Hebrides required repairs after it hit a pier in North Uist.

Rhoda Grant, Scottish Labour Highlands and Islands MSP, said CalMac urgently needed to procure extra ferries.

She said: "At least one or, by what is going on just now, maybe more vessels that are able to operate in all the ports and that can step in to allow services to run when old ferries break down."

The MV Hebrides was repaired in Ullapool last week

Transport Scotland said the Scottish government recognised that confidence in ferry services had impacts on the sustainability of island communities.

A spokesman said: "These human impacts are at the heart of Scottish ministers' commitment to continued investment in ferry services across Scotland.

"During any disruptions, CalMac will prioritise sailings to ensure delivery of essential supplies and export of island products, supporting island and remote economies."

The spokesman said CalMac and its parent company Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd were continuing to look for potential second-hand boats to relieve pressure on the network.

Earlier this year, the head of CalMac's state-owned ferry network admitted services were getting worse.

Most islands in the west of Scotland rely on CalMac, which operates 34 vessels - the largest fleet in the UK.

Boss Robbie Drummond told the BBC rising passenger numbers, more intense storms and a failure to launch new vessels had led to problems.

He said passengers' experience of the ferries was worse than in the past.