Ferry service update
15 November 2024
Weather and technical issues are affecting Western Isles ferry sailings.
South Uist lost their mainland ferry service a day earlier than promised. No published service for Lochboisdale will operate until the beginning of next month said CalMac. However, MV Clansman is slotted in for a relief run to Lochboisdale on the next two Thursdays.
Friday’s service for Castlebay has also been cancelled.
MV Isle of Mull was forced to cut short her stay in on the interim shared Barra / Uist / Oban link as the forecast showed worsening weather up to a force eight gale, risking the ship being held up for the start of her annual drydock in Aberdeen.
Stornoway relief ferry MV Isle of Lewis resumed service on Thursday afternoon after
a 24-hour outage due to a main engine fault. The breakdown - which cancelled two
return sailings - left passengers stranded on both sides of the Minch.
Stand-in freight ship, MV Hebridean Isles (Heb Isles), helped with the traffic backlog,
transporting a number of passengers and freight. But on Friday the Heb Isles will
not operate, being stormbound in Stornoway due to strong winds.
Joy at the Isle of Lewis’s return may be shortlived as her Friday’s timetable has been placed on yellow alert. If the weather comes in as forecast, some sailings are likely to be affected.
Earlier this week, the Isle of Lewis was instructed to remain in Stornoway because MV Loch Seaforth was delayed in final inspections at her annual overhaul. On Thursday night the Seaforth was relocated around 650 metres on the high tide to an overnight berth through Birkenhead Docks exit gate with the River Mersey, it is understood. She will soon set course for Stornoway with a view to picking up her service on Saturday, all going well.
