Ferry services to South Uist cancelled due to technical fault but one sailing ‘intended to operate’ tomorrow

Ferry services to Uist have been cancelled today due to a technical fault.

Tomorrow’s sailing departing Lochboisdale at 9.40am has also been cancelled, but a sailing departing Oban at 1.30pm is “intended to operate”.

MV Lord of the Isles – which serves Mallaig, Lochboisdale and Oban – was removed from service overnight after an area of steel wastage was discovered.

CalMac engineers assessed the surrounding steel onboard the vessel and have now sent the ship to Kennacraig for repairs.

MV Lord of the Isles was launched in 1989. Making the vessel one of the oldest in the fleet. It can carry 506 passengers and 49 cars.

The cancellation follows a number of similar cancellations made over the past few months due to the aging fleet.

In a statement, posted on their website, CalMac wrote: “MV Lord of the Isles has been removed from service.

“This is due to a local area of steel wastage, we are currently assessing the condition of the surrounding steel to allow us to finalise the repair solution.

“Cancelling a sailing is a decision we do not take lightly because we know it will inconvenience our customers and the communities we serve.”