The main ferry service to Islay from the mainland is expected to return to a two-vessel service on Thursday.
MV Hebridean Isles is expected to arrive in Kennacraig after a delayed annual overhaul on Wednesday morning, with islanders awaiting a timetable update.
The vessel had originally been scheduled to return to the Kennacraig-Islay route on Thursday November 30 to provide a two vessel service alongside the MV Finlaggan.
However, the vessel remained in drydock in Aberdeen until Tuesday morning after an issue was identified with the her port main engine.
This means a two-vessel service is expected to commence on Thursday morning, with some remedial work required to be carried out after Hebridean Isles arrives in Kennacraig.
CalMac has also explained that her crew will require “some compensatory rest” after the sailing from Aberdeen, which means the vessel will return to service from Port Askaig on Thursday morning.
A CalMac update on Tuesday said: “Due to delays in the annual overhaul programme, MV Finlaggan will continue to operate the published single vessel timetable. Any impacted customers will be contacted directly by the ports.
“MV Hebridean Isles is on passage to Kennacraig after completing annual overhaul. A two vessel service will resume on Thursday 7th December.”
In recent weeks, concerns have been raised by the Islay Community Council Ferry Committee (ICCFC) that no two vessel timetable had been published and that additional booking hadn’t been made available.
At the time of writing this is still understood to be the case, with the delay in providing clarity on bookings and additional sailings causing more frustration for islanders.
On Wednesday November 22, the ferry operator contacted ICCFC to provide an update on the Hebridean Isles’ return and partly explained the delay in bookings being released.
CalMac said: “MV Hebridean Isles hasn’t operated on the Islay service since we introduced eBooking (with the exception of the turn up and go trial service which was operated following her return from drydock back in October prior to going to Stornoway for the overnight freight service).
“We needed to review vessel deadweight and the vessel template, as prior to eBooking we had managed the vessel’s deadweight by limiting overall deck capacity and then filling up sailings with commercial traffic before any non-commercial traffic.
“eBooking allows us to manage deadweight through the system so we don’t need to use any workarounds, which I hope you’ll agree will be of benefit to Islay residents.”
The ICCFC responded: “It’s a pity the problem could not have been anticipated and dealt with much earlier. The clock is ticking and people urgently need the ability to book Heb Isles and to know what the timetable change will be.”
Argyll and Bute SNP MSP Jenni Minto said: “Nobody can yet book the space that is urgently needed and available on Heb Isles. The sailing times in your website have not been updated and the space is blocked.
“This is causing untold problems for people who need to book space but cannot. Whatever the reasons might be, it is a major admin failure which is not justifiable in terms of service provision obligations. It is hitting people and businesses in the pocket and must be put right.”
CalMac has been approached for further comment.
More to follow