THERE will be no ferry crossings between Ardrossan and Brodick on Tuesday, CalMac have announced.

And this time CalMac says the cancellations aren't down to the weather.

There have been no sailings on the route since Sunday lunchtime because of the high winds of Storm Isha, which led the ferry operator to announce there would be no Ardrossan-Brodick sailings at all on Monday.

Announcing the latest cancellations, CalMac have revealed that staff took the opportunity to carry out some essential maintenance on MV Isle of Arran while it was tied up due to the weather.

And it was during that maintenance that a "technical fault" was discovered. 

A problem was discovered with the main starboard engine on the 40-year-old vessel, which is now undergoing repair.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: MV Isle of Arran is the oldest major vessel in CalMac's fleet, having entered service in April 1984 MV Isle of Arran is the oldest major vessel in CalMac's fleet, having entered service in April 1984

All sailings on the route are cancelled on Tuesday, January 23 - with an update to be provided during the afternoon on whether services can resume on Wednesday.

A Calmac spokesperson said: "While carrying out essential maintenance during the recent weather cancellations, the vessel has reported a technical issue with the starboard main engine that now requires repairs to be carried out.

"As a result of the technical issue, combined with strong winds forecast on Tuesday afternoon, all sailings on this route are now cancelled.

"Plans are under way to source the required spare parts to carry out a full repair, and an update will be provided at 2pm regarding sailings on Wednesday, January 24."

 

 

It's the latest issue to hit the ferry service in recent weeks.

Delays to the long-awaited Ardrossan harbour redevelopment were announced last summer as the Scottish Government called for an examination of the scope and growing costs of the project.

Transport minister Fiona Hyslop told the Scottish Parliament in November that there was no timescale yet for the redevelopment work - with local MSP Kenneth Gibson saying the delay was "of great concern".

More disruption was caused last week after divers carrying out an inspection discovered a problem with the second berth at the harbour - known as the 'Irish berth'.

The harbour authority ordered all users to cease operations from the berth, which meant the MV Alfred - called in to provide extra capacity on the route while its regular ship, MV Caledonian Isles, is away for its annual overhaul - could no longer operate.

CalMac have already made arrangements to sail from Troon Harbour to Brodick when the new ferry Glen Sannox - which can't operate from Ardrossan until the harbour is upgraded - finally goes into service after years of delays.

Check our website for further updates.