Major delays to the scheduled refit of CalMac RoPax ferry Caledonian Isles

The perils of operating a lifeline ferry service network with an ageing fleet with a stretched maintenance budget have been highlighted only too well at Scotland’s largest ferry operator, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac).

The ferry operator’s 1993-built 5,211gt Caledonian Isles, which operates on the busy Ardrossan to Brodick (Isle of Arran) service, entered drydock on January 4th for her scheduled refit at Dales Marine Services, Garvel Clyde Drydock in Greenock. After initial inspection, it was found that steel renewals to be undertaken were far more than originally expected, and the ferry had to be taken out of drydock and sailed south to Cammell Laird’s repair facility at Birkenhead, on the River Mersey, for the work to be undertaken.

Caledonian Isles arrived in Birkenhead on February 11th.

The extensive extra workload has meant a delay of 16 weeks to the vessel’s returning to service, with the repairs costing GBP 5 million. If all goes to plan, Caledonian Isles is expected to return to service in mid-June, after missing the start of the busy summer timetable. However, this date has yet to be confirmed.

In order to access the areas that are in urgent need of steel replacement, the ferry’s main and auxiliary diesel engines have to be removed to provide suitable access to the double-bottom water ballast tank tops. These repairs need to be carried out in a planned, coordinated manner rather than all at the same time, to maintain the ferry’s structural integrity.

Commenting on the delay to repairs to Caledonian Isles, Robbie Drummond, CEO of CalMac told SRN: “Over a third of our vessels are now operating beyond their average life expectancy, and we invested record levels in annual maintenance in 2023. We are stretched to the absolute limit in terms of network deployment already, and the arrival of six major vessels and ten small vessels in the coming years will provide much needed resilience and reliability to the service.”

The average age of the CalMac fleet (34 vessels owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, two vessels on charter, and six newbuildings under construction) is now more than 24 years old, with many of the major vessels even older, with one vessel 39 years old and another 41 years old. 

Meanwhile, on February 27th, Greenock’s Dales Marine Services was busy repairing a total of four vessels, three of which were from the CalMac fleet:

• Loch Fyne – 549gt 1991-built double-ender passenger RoRo ferry, owned by Port Glasgow-based Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)
• Coruisk – 1,599gt 2003-built passenger RoRo ferry, owned by Port Glasgow-based Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)
• Loch Portain – 950gt 2003-built double-ender passenger RoRo ferry, owned by Port Glasgow-based Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)
• Hebridean Princess – 2,112gt 1964-built luxury cruise vessel, owned by the UK’s Hebridean Island Cruises

Down on the River Mersey meanwhile, on the same day, Cammell Laird was working on three other vessels besides Caledonian Isles:

• Alfred – 2,991gt 2019-built passenger RoRo ferry, owned by Scotland’s family-owned Pentland Ferries, this catamaran ferry is currently on charter to CalMac
• Manannan – 1998-built Incat 92m wave-piercing catamaran high-speed ferry, owned by Douglas-based Isle of Man Steam Packet
• RFA Proteus – 6,133gt 2019-built survey seabed surveillance vessel, owned by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) and operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)