Police were called to deal with passengers who refused to leave the Brodick ferry terminal after they were left stranded on Arran when the last ferry back to the mainland was cancelled last night.
This came after the Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, due to sail at 16.40 was diverted to assist a mayday distress call from a yacht that had lost its power around 4 pm.
Although the Caledonian Isles was stood down and returned to service, the 19.00 sailing was cancelled due to bad weather.
It was suspected that 40 passengers were left without accommodation, with some being forced to sleep in their vehicles during the bad weather.
For those on foot, they were told to seek alternative accommodation, even though the buses that could take them further out into the island had finished.
The island is currently at summer peak season and most accommodation was fully booked.
🔶 AMBER #Ardrossan #Brodick 13Aug Due to a fault with the fendering at Ardrossan which makes it unsafe for MV Caledonian Isles to lie alongside at low tide, tonight’s 2140 sailing from Brodick has been cancelled.
— CalMac Service Info (@CalMac_Updates) August 13, 2021
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Police Scotland say there have been no complaints made with regard to how the incident was dealt with by them.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 6.50 pm on Thursday, August 12 2021, police attended the ferry terminal at Brodick after the last ferry sailing had been cancelled due to weather conditions and some passengers were refusing to move from the pier.
"Officers offered advice and assistance and local arrangements were made, via police and Visit Scotland, to accommodate stranded passengers. No further police action."
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CalMac has been plagued with further cancellations today and this afternoon have cancelled the last sailing for tonight and tomorrow morning.
Tommy Gore, CalMac Area Operations Manager (Clyde) said: “We put on extra sailings via Lochranza to assist in clearing the backlog of traffic. We are unable to say how many people were not able to get away, but we worked with local partners at VisitArran who have full details of accommodation providers on the island to assist in arranging for accommodation for those who could not get on a ferry.
“Police support was requested because cancellations meant it was a civil contingencies issue that required a joint response to ensure passengers were looked after. In these circumstances, we would usually liaise with Police Scotland and the local authority.”
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