ALFRED

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Charter extended

CalMac has extended the charter of the 'Alfred' to the end of the year. The ferry will provide additional support within the Clyde and Hebrides network until Dec 31. CalMac was due to return the vessel to Pentland Ferries in May, when there were expectations the 'Caledonian Isles' would be finally repaired. But the Caley Isles failed to appear this summer and the 'Alfred'’s stay was continued to October. Delays with the handover of the 'Isle of Islay' also forced CalMac’s hand in continuing the hire especially as the ship she is effectively replacing, 'Hebridean Isles', was removed from the fleet in 2024. Potential drydock delays preventing ferries from returning to service following annual overhaul was another influencing factor. CalMac and the Scottish Government are due to officiallyed confirm the charter extension on Sep 8. Instead of heading back to her own Orkney route on the Pentland Firth at the end of CalMac’s summer timetable, the 'Alfred' will cover west coast routes during the first half of the winter drydock period. The Scottish Government wass expected to provide over £2.2 million pounds to CalMac towards the 'Alfred'’s charter extension.

Ferry suffered bow thruster issue

The 'Alfred', serving on the route Troon-Brodick, suffered an issue with the bow thruster that required the attendance of divers on Aug 28. As a consequence, the following sailings have been cancelled: Departure Troon - 1:35 p.m. Departure Brodick - 3:45 p.m. All other sailings were unaffected. The 'Alfred' is serving the route along with the ferry 'Glen Sannox' due to ongoing investigations of the 'Caledonian Isles', which caused that there is no scheduled service to Arran and between Ardrossan and Brodick.

Crew rescued passenger who fell over board

A passenger has been rescued after falling overboard from the 'Alfred' on Aug 16 shortly after 1.35 p.m. in the Firth of Clyde on the Troon to Brodrick route. CalMac had informed passengers that the ferry’s arrival would be delayed due to an emergency incident. The passenger was picked up by a rescue boat which was deployed by the ferry crew. The 'Alfred' was rerouted back to Troon harbour after the rescue operation. The passenger, who was understood to be conscious, was passed to the Scottish Ambulance Service. Sailings of the 'Alfred' were delayed for the remainder of the day.