CalMac Abandons Plan to Charter Isle of Man Ferry After Trials

An initiative to charter a substantial vessel from the Isle of Man, intended to ease pressure on Scotland’s west coast ferry services this winter, has been discontinued. CalMac, the ferry operator, conducted a berthing test with the MV Ben-My-Chree on its Arran route and subsequently confirmed the trial’s failure. The ship, owned by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, successfully docked at both Troon and Brodick, but the safety margins at Brodick were deemed too narrow to proceed with the charter arrangement. CalMac had aimed to lease the ship to enhance operational resilience this winter, a period when several of its larger ferries might be out of service for repairs or scheduled maintenance. The Ben-My-Chree – which translates to “girl of my heart” in the Manx language – currently functions as a reserve vessel for Isle of Man ferry services, following the arrival of a new ship, the Manxman, last year. This 125m (410ft) vessel is available for charter to other operators under a service agreement that allows its recall with four days’ notice in emergencies. However, the Ben-My-Chree, being wider than the CalMac vessels typically operating on the Arran route, encountered difficulties when berthing at Brodick. Duncan Mackison, CalMac’s interim chief executive, stated: “Whilst the vessel berthed successfully, we were at the very edge of the limits it was safe to operate to, and we’d be relying on completely benign conditions to berth regularly.” He added, “Given the conditions at this time of year it is not safe, or sensible, for the service to try and operate this way.” Mackison further explained, “Preliminary work indicated the vessel may be suitable for Troon-Brodick and eliminated all other routes. But the only way we could know with certainty was to carry out these trials.” CalMac indicated that the unsuccessful trials would have “no immediate negative impact” on its services and affirmed its continued exploration of options for chartering additional ferry capacity. CalMac has previously stated that it anticipates a very challenging winter, and chartering the Ben-My-Chree would have allowed a vessel from the Arran route to be freed up to maintain services elsewhere. The primary Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, has been out of commission since February, and repairs to a new gearbox fault are expected to take at least another fortnight. The MV Hebridean Isles is scheduled for retirement next month, as it requires recertification and its continued maintenance is no longer considered feasible. Other large vessels in the CalMac fleet will also need to be withdrawn for scheduled annual maintenance during the winter. The dual-fuel ship Glen Sannox, under construction at the Ferguson shipyard, was due for handover two weeks ago, but a revised delivery date has yet to be confirmed. The first of four new ferries being built in Turkey has also been delayed and is not expected to arrive until next February. The last time a new large ship was provided to CalMac by the ferries procurement firm CMAL was in 2015, with the delivery of the Loch Seaforth. Many of the ships in the CalMac fleet have now significantly exceeded their expected service life. In some instances, they are so old that spare parts are no longer available and must be specially manufactured.