CalMac has negotiated a charter of MV Arrow to cover freight demand on the Stornoway -
The Seaforth is scheduled to depart Lewis around 20 October due to spend two weeks in dry dock on the River Mersey.
MV Arrow is to carry lorries and haulage during her absence into early November which overlaps with extra pressure on the Stornoway route when the Harris -
She has been called in as CalMac has run out of ships in its depleted fleet to operate the route.
The only alternative vessel was MV Isle of Arran which is unable to fulfil freight capacity requirements -
Requisitioning the much larger Arrow provides confidence of transporting haulage to and from the island in conjunction with MV Isle of Lewis which will operate the passenger service.
All ferry sailings for Tarbert will be cancelled between late October and December during the Skye triangle closure period, with traffic detoured north, creating additional strain on the Stornoway -
Its unclear if an option has been secured to extend the charter should the Seaforth’s overhaul be delayed.
CalMac has ruled out leasing the Arrow for the full duration of the Uig outage.
The shipping company said: “Due to the low utilisation during the first closure, it is not economically justifiable to charter (MV Arrow) to provide network resilience” for the full Uig closure period.
The fully crewed Arrow lay idle in Stornoway for the vast majority of her charter during the first phase of Skye triangle closure at the beginning of this year.
MV Arrow was not available in October 2022 for the full period of the Seaforth’s overhaul but her owners, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, now wish to increase external charter opportunities.
The Arrow will not be able to cover passenger sailings if MV Isle of Lewis sailings are cancelled as she is a freight vessel.
CalMac hires freight ship to support MV Loch Seaforth overhaul absence
28 August 2023
