CALEDONIAN ISLES

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ferry left Greenock to be drydocked in Leith

The 'Caledonian Isles' has left the James Watt Dock of the Dales Marine in Greenock on the evening July 25, as the ferry operator tries to find a solution to technical problems that have kept the ship out of service for more than a year and a half. The ferry was bound for dry dock in Leith, for repairs which could take between eight weeks and four months. Thge mechanisms that control the pitch of the propellers will have to be removed for further investigation. If that doesn't work, the retrofitting of a new system to improve the accuracy of the pitch control will be tried. This would take four more months. The 'Caledonian Isles' went out of service for its annual overhaul in January 2024. A hull deformity was discovered after repairs at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside, which has had a knock-on effect on the ferry’s return to service and prompted CalMac to seek to recover some of the almost £11 million in costs from the Birkenhead yard. CalMac intended to publish winter timetables soon and aim to give communities and customers certainty about service levels and vessel deployment during that period.

Ferry has to return to drydock

CalMac said on July 22 that the 'Caledonian Isles' would return to dry dock for further repairs which would likely take between eight weeks and four months, prompting a re-think of the winter timetable. Based on the current prognosis, the 'Caledonian Isles' could return in September in a best-case scenario or November in a worst-case scenario. CalMac intendex to publish winter timetables soon and aim to give communities and customers certainty about service levels and vessel deployment during that period.

CalMac bid to reclaim costs for repairs

CalMac is trying to recover millions of pounds of repair costs for the 'Caledonian Isles', which has been sidelined from the Arran route since Jan 2024, The costs has already risen to nearly £11m. The ferry operator is now seeking compensation from the Cammell Laird Yard over problems discovered when the ship returned to Scotland in September, after the Merseyside firm carried out the first phase of work. The claim relates to deformation of the ship's hull, which has required months of remedial work. Cammell Laird has declined to comment. Action was under way to recover some of those repair costs following an investigation into the cause of the hull deformity. The problems began in January 2024 when annual maintenance inspections in Scotland revealed extensive steel corrosion. The ship was moved to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead for a highly complex repair operation which required removal of the ship's engines. The work, said at the time to cost around £5m, was completed last September but when the ship sailed back to Scotland the crew noticed a gearbox problem and metal shards were discovered in a filter. Further investigation revealed that eight frames were deformed and that more steel replacement was required. CalMac engaged a naval architect to report on the root cause of the deformation, while more repairs were carried out in Greenock, by a different ship repair firm. The ferry was due to resume sailing from Ardrossan in June, but a new fault affecting its variable pitch propellers, essential for manoeuvring in harbour, was identified during sea trials, and the ship remained out of service.