The Castlebay ferry is being diverted north to Skye due to the linkspan failure at her normal mainland destination port of Oban.
Harbour authority CMAL has declared the structure out of action until a serious fault is repaired.
The MV Isle of Lewis cannot dock in Oban as the port’s other linkspan is unsuitable for her size.
On Tuesday, Hebrides News flagged up Ullapool or Skye as alternative ports.
Cal Mac has now opted to use Uig pier with the vessel’s timings ahead of low water governed by both tidal restrictions and the MV Hebrides’ manoeuvres.
Although, the sea voyage will be shorter, passengers face a much lengthier journey to reach the central belt.
The ferry will depart Castlebay at 8am to arrive in Uig at 12.15pm. She will have to move off the berth for a couple of hours when the Hebrides arrives from Lochmaddy and loads with Tarbert traffic.
Around 2.15pm -
Passengers with onward travel requirements from Uig are asked to advise Castlebay office, or the purser onboard the ship at sea.
There is a Scottish Citylink 916 coach departing Uig at 2.45pm which should be booked in advance.
Intending foot passengers turning up at the Oban terminal before 10am will be provided with transport to Uig. Scottish Citylink has a service from Fort William leaving at 10.15am to Skye.
Serious problems with Oban’s number two linkspan has seen MV Isle of Lewis twice diverted to Mull this week for traffic to swap onto another vessel.
Last night, passengers from Barra waited for four hours at Craignure for the MV Clansman to divert from her own Colonsay run to pick them up. They arrived on the mainland around 11.40pm
On Monday, Barra passengers endured a similar ship swap exercise when the linkspan fault emerged.
The problem has cause chaos with ferry delays and excess vehicles in the port at
both Oban and Mull. Cal Mac reported a knock-
Barra passengers being sent over the sea to Skye
4 August 2018
