CalMac’s MV Caledonian Isles has returned from its annual overhaul to resume service on the Ardrossan to Brodick route, with crossings starting again on Monday, February 23, after the vessel had been out of action for more than a month. For Arran residents and businesses who depend on the ferry, the return of their primary lifeline service will come as a relief.
The chartered vessel MV Alfred will continue to serve the Troon to Brodick route until Saturday, February 28. However, the late return of the troubled MV Glen Sannox from its own annual overhaul means there will be no sailings between Troon and Brodick on Sunday, March 1. The Caledonian Isles will provide the only service from the Ayrshire mainland to Arran that day. The Glen Sannox has been out of action since November.
The Sannox is expected to return on Monday, March 2, from Brodick. Anyone familiar with CalMac’s recent track record will take that date with appropriate scepticism until the vessel actually appears at the terminal.
CalMac’s ferry services have become something of a national embarrassment. The Glen Sannox, one of two ferries built at the now closed Ferguson Marine shipyard, arrived years late and massively over budget. That it should then be out of service for four months barely a year after finally entering operation is the kind of detail that would be comic if real communities were not being affected. Arran’s economy, tourism, and daily life depend on reliable ferry connections. One vessel operating for a single day without backup is not reliability. It is crisis management dressed up as a timetable.