ISLANDERS have called for the First Minister to intervene as widespread cancellations on Scotland's busiest ferry crossing over safety issues continued on Wednesday and are expected on Thursday.

At least half the scheduled sailings between Brodick on the isle of Arran and Ardrossan were cancelled on Wednesday, with further journeys due to be dropped on Thursday because of a fault with the ageing ferry's mooring equipment. The first five sailings between the mainland and the island have already been cancelled.

The Arran Ferry Action Group, whose 1,200 supporters represent more than half of households on the island and who believe "enough is enough" have requested that the "parlous state of our ferry services" is raised at First Minister's Questions.

READ MORE: Islanders' anger as safety issue brings Scotland's busiest ferry to a halt

CalMac have said the latest issue is with the mooring winch gearbox which means the vessel is "unable to safely berth during periods of adverse weather". Repairs are expected to take six weeks.

The Herald:

It said that a suggestion that an available catamaran be chartered to supplement the "limping" MV Caledonian Isles had been rejected.

"We are mindful of the potential damage of negative publicity on Arran's economy, but with substantial losses to winter trade already incurred due to ferry problems, we remain determined to hold those responsible to account," the group said.

The latest cancellations bring to 20 the number of sailings between Brodick on the isle of Arran and Ardrossan that have been cancelled since Sunday with further disruption expected.

Islanders have been demanding a long overdue temporary replacement to allow vital supplies and drugs to reach the largest island in the Firth of Clyde.

It comes after CalMac bosses have said the ferries "shambles" at Ferguson Marine's shipyard in Port Glasgow is causing knock-on 'major disruption' for island communities up and down the west coast of Scotland.

Dual fuel replacement Arran ferry Glen Sannox and her as yet unnamed sister were due to enter service in mid-2018 but the calamitous contract has doubled in price - and is now estimated at £300m - while work on the vessels won't be finished until at least 2022.

The Herald:

The first ferry from the mainland to Arran on Wednesday arrives after a series of cancellations.

Five years ago, Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow was handed a £97 million contract to build the two ferries.

Islanders have previously raised concerns over the £31 million project to reposition Brodick harbour by 90 degrees. It is claimed the new position has led to a spike in cancellations because it has made the high-sided vessels which serve the port more susceptible to easterly winds.

CalMac managing director said that it was "not true" that there are suitable vessels somewhere in the world ready to be leased or bought and take over the Arran run on a temporary basis.

He said: "There are no second-hand ferries available which meet the unusually shallow draft requirements on the west coast, interface into our port infrastructure and which can operate in our challenging waters.

"We have continually searched the market... in the last six years and brokers are fully alert to our needs. While a number of vessels have been put forward, they have either not met the demanding requirements of UK class or the work required to get them to a class level would be uneconomic or unachievable."

Official figures from CalMac show a total of 308 sailings were cancelled out of 4,969 scheduled in 2019. This compares with 371 cancellations out of 4,822 in 2018. In the beginning of February, there were at least three days of disruption with an engine fault on the MV Caledonian Isles cited as a major cause.

The Herald:

Mid-February cancellations were caused by poor weather and what the ferry operator describes as the failure of a navigational aid. And further cancellations later in the month were put down to bad weather.

In October, the crossing had to be rerouted indefinitely after the vehicle gangways failed and a usual fallback option was out of service.

CalMac sailings to and from were cancelled after both gangways, or linkspans failed in what is understood to be a problem with their hydraulics.

The MV Caledonian Isles to and from Brodick on the isle of Arran would ordinarily have been switched to Gourock instead, but the linkspan there has been out of action for the last three weeks.

The Arran service was forced to use Troon as “an emergency port”, even though it lacks passenger and parking facilities, as it is principally a cargo port.

Meanwhile on social media Stuart Wilson, the group director of communications and community engagement for CalMac's parent company David MacBrayne, was defending their record amidst criticism as the ferry company headed a "Driving Economic Growth" talk in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

He said: "Real solutions are what we are looking for. It is intensely frustrating for us to have the service disrupted. We are fully aware of the impact this has and apologise for it."