ARRAN ferry MV Caledonian Isles was spotted berthing in Troon harbour last Sunday.

It is believed the vessel was carrying out trials to test the feasibility of using Troon as a resilience port in bad weather as reported by the Ardrossan Herald recently.

And in a further development, we can reveal that Troon’s port manager is welcoming talks with ferry giants Caledonian MacBrayne about the moves.

Stuart Cresswell, Associated British Ports Port Manager Scotland said: “ABP and Calmac have been working closely together for a number of years with respect to the maintenance of ferries at Troon, extending this relationship to assist the berthing of the Arran ferry service during periods of bad weather makes perfect sense.

“Troon’s sheltered harbour mouth and ferry berth generally remain open on most poor weather days so we would hope that disruption to the service would be hugely reduced.   “Troon also offers good shopping within walking distance of the port and with four trains an hour departing from Troon station to Glasgow, the new arrangement would hopefully minimise any inconvenience for both Arran residents and visiting tourists.” CalMac have also confirmed they are looking at using Troon harbour.

A spokesperson said: “We are testing the potential of using Troon for disrupted services. This won’t be the entire service moving at all.

“Nothing is decided but this is a possibility as part of refuge but we will continue to look at all the options.

“We are the exploratory stages and we continue to look at all options but this is purely for resilience and will be best for customers.” The Ardrossan Ferry Terminal is notoriously difficult to manoeuvre into when arriving – and this is heightened in stormy weather, meaning the ferry has to turn back to Brodick or make the trip to Gourock.  Now with Troon as a possibility, it means locals and holidaymakers may no longer be stuck on the island or on the mainland.