ONE of Scotland's busiest ferry services is expected to be operating somewhere near normally from today, after safety issues with a lifeline vessel were fixed.

State-controlled ferry operator CalMac has had to curtail the use of MV Caledonian Isles, one of the biggest and oldest vessels in Scotland's lifeline ferry network since Tuesday.

But now it says repairs to a fast rescue craft which is required by large vessels for man overboard situations has been completed and releasing some capacity on the vessel.

It comes after a series of issues over just over a month which began when a Easter holiday weekend services to and from Arran were disrupted with a series of cancellations after a crash following an engine failure involving the 29-year-old vessel.

It was understood that the problem was with the crane-like devices called davits, that is preventing a fast rescue craft launch.

CalMac's marine department was understood to have had to produce "a safety case" and risk assessment for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to approve sailing on the Ardrossan to Brodick trip without the use of it in the short term.

Users had been told the MV Caledonian Isles was restricted to carrying 410 passengers - less than half its normal capacity. Official figures show that it can carry 1000 passengers, and 92 cars.

CalMac said that it was cut from 704 passengers to 569. The ferry operator said the Caledonian Isles capacity had already been reduced from 1000 late last year due to outside seating issues.

Now CalMac says after a repair the safety case "has been lifted" and that from noon on Thursday the capacity will rise to 712 and then up to 731 on Friday when they open up some of the seating that had previously been closed off on the funnel deck.

The Herald:

The ferry operator explained that most of the outdoor seating is being replaced on the Caledonian Isles which means there are less seats available for those customers who wish to sit outdoors during their journey.

It added: "We apologise to those of you who are affected. Work is underway – however, it has taken longer than we would have liked due to the supply chain issues being experienced by our supplier. We hope to have some of the seating space back to normal as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

Ferry users had been told that CalMac was aware this weekend will be "exceptionally busy" and that everything would be done to return the vessel to full passenger capacity before Friday.

The extended Jubilee four-day bank holiday weekend begins on Thursday and runs to Sunday.

CalMac launched an investigation in mid-April after the Caledonian Isles crash which put the vessel out of action for nearly a fortnight.

A smaller ferry, MV Isle of Arran, operated the Caledonian Isles’ timetable while the vessel was out of action.

A recent economic study commissioned by North Ayrshire Council found that disrupted ferries cost the Isle of Arran up to £170,000 a day in lost revenue to businesses.

Last September a problem with the sewage system meant it was withdrawn from service to undergo repair leading to more ferry cancellations on the busy Ardrossan to Brodick route.

It was also out of action for several days in August as a result of a member of staff testing positive for Covid.

The delivery of new lifeline island ferries MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802, which were due online in the first half of 2018, are at least going to be over five years years late, with costs at least rising by two-and-a-half times to £250m. Glen Sannox was due to support the Arran route.