Arran ferry to sail from Troon, says CalMac

The MV Alfred will sail between Troon and Brodick

A catamaran chartered to link Arran with the Noth Ayrshire mainland will sail from Troon rather than Ardrossan, CalMac has said.

The ferry company says the MV Alfred will operate as a freight service between Troon and Brodick from Tuesday.

It has been unable to sail from Ardrossan for more than 10 days after the Irish berth - the only berth it could sail from - was closed amid safety fears.

The MV Isle of Arran has continued to sail between Ardrossan and Brodick but the lack of a second service caused delivery delays and uncertainty for businesses and passengers.

The MV Caledonian Isles - currently undergoing prolonged steel repair work in Liverpool - is expected back in service after 7 March.

In a statement on the CalMac website, the firm said the Troon sailings were strictly for commercial customers.

The MV Alfred is owned by Pentland Ferries. It joined the CalMac fleet last May to help service the Arran-Ardrossan route.

Robbie Drummond, the ferry firm's chief executive, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland on Monday he was sorry the community was not receiving the "high quality" service they deserved.

"Despite the challenges, our focus remains on delivering the best service we can using the tools we have," he said.

"The problem is that the Alfred is not able to use the main berth in Ardrossan," he added.

Two new ferries currently under construction are due to join the Arran service once they are completed.

However the Glen Rosa and the Glen Sannox are overdue and over budget. They are due for delivery later this year and next year, respectively, and will operate from Troon.

Peel Ports Group, which owns Ardrossan Harbour, initially said the Irish berth would open on 24 January but it remains shut.

It told BBC Scotland News that the "temporary pause" was put in place to allow further dive inspections to take place.

"We expect the outcome of these inspections to be available by the end of the month, at which time we will take a decision on the continued operation of the berth," a spokesperson added.

“The main Arran berth is fully operational, however recent extreme weather conditions have further impacted services."

Ferry 'languishing'

Before the Troon solution was announced, Timothy Billings, a Conservative councillor for Arran, said it was a "real issue" that the island was being served by one ferry.

"The trouble is that this is an ongoing issue," he added.

"Last year in the winter months, we saw a cancellation rate of 19%. When you compare that to 2017, when it was actually down at 5%, which was what we normally should have expected.

“It affects everything. This is our only way of getting on and off the island. So if you’ve got a hospital appointment, you’d miss the hospital appointment because the cancelled ferry."

He criticised the delay in shifting the ferry service to Troon quickly, as MV Alfred had been "languishing there and not doing anything".

Transport Scotland said it understood there was frustration in the community over the delays to the harbour upgrade - but said it was "essential" to have a refreshed business case because of significant changes to the original plans.

A spokesperson added: "This includes work on the Irish berth which has seen corrosion identified in recent days, and we are in contact with Peel Ports as owners and harbour authority at Ardrossan about that issue and the impact it has."