CalMac Islay ferry to be retired and scrapped after 38 years

CalMac has operated MV Hebridean Isles for almost 40 years

One of the oldest ferries in CalMac's fleet is to be withdrawn from service in November before being scrapped and parts of it recycled.

Islay's MV Hebridean Isles is 38 years old and has required lengthy and costly repairs - including last year when it was out of action for 10 months.

It was removed from service on Thursday for investigations into a problem with its bow thruster, but CalMac said this issue was not linked to the decision to scrap it.

The first of two new ferries for Islay - MV Isle of Islay - is due to enter service later this year and the second in early 2025.

The ship was built by the Cochrane shipyard in Selby, North Yorkshire, and given a spectacular sideways launch into the River Ouse in July 1985.

It was the first CalMac ship built outside Scotland, with bagpipers sent for the ceremony attended by the Duchess of Kent.

Nicknamed Heb Isles, the ferry has in the past operated a freight run between Ullapool-Stornoway, was used between Ardrossan and Brodick and served the Uig Triangle and Oban-Lochboisdale route.

In its lifetime it was also chartered by NorthLink Ferries for several winters in the early 2000s, providing relief on its Stromness to Scrabster service.

Work on a new ferry MV Isle of Islay is being completed at a yard in Turkey

CalMac's fleet management director Craig Ramsay said: "MV Hebridean Isles’ planned disposal marks the latest step in a period of significant change for CalMac, which will see the rapid modernisation of our fleet of major vessels by 2026.

"If the Heb Isles were to be retained, she would require a significant programme of work in overhaul due to her age and general condition and this would keep her out of service for months."

He added: "Vessels become a part of the fabric of the island communities they serve, and CalMac colleagues and islanders, particularly on Islay, will be sorry to see the Heb Isles exit the fleet after a long period of service.

"That’s why we are keen to mark her departure in some form come November."

Heb Isles will be taken to a recycling facility after it is withdrawn from service.

The ship is currently the second-oldest large ship in the CalMac fleet, after MV Isle of Arran which is 40 years old but still serving the route after which was named.

The oldest vessel is the small ferry Isle of Cumbrae, which is now nearly 48 years old.