CalMac apology after seven of its ferries out of action

CalMac has apologised to passengers for an "unprecedented situation" that put seven out of its ferries out of action.

Three major vessels and a smaller ferry are in overhaul while three large ferries were out of service with technical issues across its West of Scotland network.

These include cancelled morning sailings on Arran's troubled Glen Sannox ferry - which is facing £3.2m of further costs after only a year in operation.

In a statement issued directly to island communities, CalMac warned that the situation "may be the most pressing we've faced".

On Thursday morning the island of Arran had both of its main routes suspended, until Glen Sannox resumed sailings at 15:55.

Mull has one vessel, MV Coruisk, operating its main Oban-Craignure route, while Islay has one ferry, MV Finlaggan, sailing to the island.

Barra and South Uist have a reduced service, with both islands sharing the MV Isle of Mull.

Coll, Tiree and Colonsay also have a reduced service due to a smaller vessel, MV Lord of the Isles, covering the route instead of MV Clansman.

CalMac said it had four vessels "critical to providing these services" in overhaul.

• MV Alfred (Due back 6 April)
• MV Loch Frisa (Due back 9 April)
• MV Hebrides (Due back 15 April)
• MV Isle of Lewis (Due back late May)

In addition, three ferries were out of action with technical issues.

• MV Caledonian Isles (Off since Sunday)
• MV Isle of Arran (Off since Wednesday)
• MV Glen Sannox (Off on Thursday until 15:00)

CalMac also said its new ferry, MV Isle of Islay, was still undergoing sea trials to fix a problem with its power management system as well as a number of snagging issues before it enters service on the Islay route.

The ship, which arrived in Scotland in January, is the first of four new vessels built in Turkey.

But CalMac said it would not be able to carry passengers until Monday, missing this Friday's start of the summer season.

CalMac chief executive officer Duncan Mackison earlier said the state-owned ferry operator was facing an "unprecedented situation" with four vessels in overhaul and three others with technical issues.

"Collectively, this is causing network-wide issues and impacting service levels for Arran, Barra, Coll, Colonsay, Islay, Mull, South Uist and Tiree," he said.

"We apologise to everyone affected by disruption, and we're doing everything we can to restore services as quickly as possible."

In a later update, Mackison said Glen Sannox was back in action after a repair to its exhaust, and that he hoped Caledonian Isles would return to service on Friday.

"We're working hard to restore services and get vessels back in action as quickly as we can," he said.

Earlier this month, ferries on the main route to Arran were badly affected after a technical problem with Glen Sannox, just a week after it returned from an extended annual overhaul in Merseyside.

The vessel, which entered service over-budget and years late, also needs new redesigned propellers to fix a persistent vibration problem when manoeuvring.

Fixing the vibration issue, which caused a small weld fault in the hull last year, could add £3.2m of extra costs for Glen Sannox and its sister vessel Glen Rosa, managers from the Ferguson shipyard have told a committee of MSPs.

This week, it was also revealed that the two ships will not be able to dock at Ardrossan Harbour until at least 2029.

The ships, ordered by ferries agency CMAL in 2015, are too big to berth at the existing facilities.

The harbour, which was taken into public ownership last month, is set to be the long-term home for the Arran service but the government said the redevelopment work will take two years and will not start until 2027.