Nearly 300 passengers endured more than five hours on CalMac’s flagship ferry yesterday after it broke down.

The ferry firm had warned earlier this year that passengers faced disruption because of its ageing fleet. But the fact its four-year-old, and largest, ferry suffered a breakdown at the height of the season is a major embarrassment to CalMac.

The Ullapool to Stornoway ferry, MV Loch Seaforth, with 299 passengers, arrived at the Isle of Lewis port at around 4pm.

The incident caused knock-on travel chaos for passengers on both sides of the Minch, with connecting bus passengers from Inverness facing the prospect of spending the night on the mainland.

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Accommodation in Ullapool was also said to be scarce.

Caledonian MacBrayne said the £42 million ferry’s power outage problem was due to the main engine cooling systems.

Limited power was achieved from one engine, allowing the ferry, which had 343 people including crew on board, to continue its journey to Stornoway.

The MV Loch Seaforth had suffered a three-hour emergency after one main engine was knocked out followed by the other, and the ship lost steerage.

For about an hour the vessel was drifting in the middle of the Minch with no power. Her onboard electricity system was also affected.

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RNLI lifeboats from Stornoway and Lochinver escorted the ship into the port.

A CalMac spokesman said services were suspended while an assessment of the damage was made.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said an emergency towing vessel had also headed for the Loch Seaforth as a precaution.

The ferry, which departed Ullapool bound for Stornoway at 10.30am, got back under way at about 2.30pm after suffering the power failure.

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The MV Loch Seaforth’s troubles follow other ferry breakdowns this year. The |MV Clansman - whose extended repairs caused massive travel disruption along the west coast -returned to service in June after complications during repairs meant the boat was out of action for longer than expected.