Ferry's makeshift disabled facilities as scaled-back timetable begins

A scaled-back timetable on the main ferry route for Arran has begun with special arrangements put in place for disabled travellers due to a broken lift.

The chartered catamaran MV Alfred will be the only ferry sailing to Brodick for the remainder of January while two major ships are away for maintenance.

The catamaran's lift is out of action so CalMac has obtained permission from regulators for some disabled passengers to remain on the car deck during the 90-minute crossing where an accessible toilet will be available.

CalMac will also help with overnight accommodation for customers with critical medical appointments who cannot travel to and from the mainland in a single day.

The situation has arisen because two other ferries which normally serve the Arran route are both undergoing maintenance.

CalMac's newest ferry, MV Glen Sannox, has been at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead since November for an extended overhaul while still covered by warranty. The ship is due back in service on 2 February.

An older vessel, MV Caledonian Isles, which returned to service in October after 20 months of repairs, departed at the weekend for its annual overhaul in Greenock and will return on 7 February.

In the meantime, a single-vessel Brodick service will be provided from Troon by MV Alfred, the catamaran which has been chartered from Pentland ferries since May 2023 at a cost of £1m per month.

The car deck passenger lift on MV Alfred is currently broken, with spare parts due to arrive next week which CalMac hopes will allow a repair.

Passengers are not normally allowed to remain on the car deck but CalMac has obtained permission from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for special arrangements for up to 10 customers per sailing who are unable to use stairs.

A small number of passengers will be allowed to stay in their own vehicles while foot passengers will be offered a space in an accessible minibus and an accessible toilet will also be available on the car deck.

The presence of passengers on the car deck means vehicles carrying dangerous goods will not be allowed to use the ferry, and will have to use the much longer alternative route to Arran, from Claonaig on the Kintyre peninsula to Lochranza.

The Isle of Arran Ferry Committee urged passengers not to vent their frustrations on frontline CalMac staff who it said would be equally frustrated, but it said the temporary measures highlighted issues with "safety and personal dignity".

The group's secretary Bill Calderwood said: "The arrangements for mobility-limited passengers falls far short of what would normally have been provided during the maintenance period and we consider still fails to meet basic service criteria for a government-controlled public body."

CalMac has calculated that MV Alfred should be sufficient to meet January passenger demand, and the alternative would be to pull a vessel away from a different route such as Mull.

The operator has apologised to Arran customers, and acknowledged that onboard facilities may "fall short" of expectations.

A spokeswoman said: "To support islanders who have urgent or critical medical appointments during this period, we have arranged additional help, such as paying for accommodation on the mainland."

She said emergency assistance and welfare checks would be available to passengers with mobility problems until the lift is fixed.

The spokeswoman added: "Whilst compliant with legislation, we recognise that the set up for passengers with mobility issues is far from ideal and falls below the standard we'd hope to provide customers."

CalMac faces a difficult few weeks as it tries to maintain service while juggling scheduled winter maintenance slots and unexpected repairs that have left four of its 10 largest ships out of service.

MV Lord of the Isles, which normally serves South Uist, is currently in dry dock due a "small fault" with its steel plating close to the waterline, while MV Clansman is undergoing scheduled maintenance

The underlying issue is delays to vessel replacement with many vessels now well beyond their expected service life, but the situation should improve during the year as new ships arrive.

The first of four large ferries being built in Turkey, MV Isle of Islay, although delayed by more than a year, is expected to be handed over by the Cemre shipyard in the next few weeks before making the journey to Scotland.

The remaining three ships are due to follow on at six-monthly intervals, while MV Glen Rosa, earmarked for the Arran route, is currently due for completion by the Ferguson shipyard by the end of the year.

Work is also said to be progressing well on seven small ferries being built by a shipyard in Poland.

The charter of MV Alfred has provided CalMac with vital extra capacity while it awaits new vessels, which are procured by a separate government-owned firm CMAL, but the arrangement has lasted far longer than expected.

The cost of the charter, while it includes crewing costs and fuel, is now more than double the £14m paid by Orkney-based Pentland Ferries for construction of the ship by a Vietnamese shipyard in 2019.