MV Alfred to begin nine-month charter with CalMac this week following delay

The MV Alfred will join the CalMac fleet on Thursday as part of resilience efforts.

The vessel has been leased to CalMac for nine months and will provide relief for older ferries during the busy summer season.

Built in 2019, it is the newest of the two ferries which operate in the Pentland Firth in Orkney and was due to begin its charter on April 18.

However, the older vessel, the MV Pentalina, was delayed in getting a safety certificate but has since been certified.

Return to service

It will return to service tomorrow, allowing the MV Alfred to journey to the west coast.

The MV Alfred has a different configuration than CalMac ferries and must undergo berthing trials in ports across the network.

These include Ullapool, Lochmaddy, and Port Askaig on Islay where the vessel could provide relief if CalMac are forced to pull another ferry from service.

If all goes well, the MV Alfred should complete sea trials by April 30 and be available thereafter.

‘Should help mitigate the impact of disruption’

CalMac has been battling several issues around the age of its fleet, with some vessels well past their life expectancy.

It means lengthy overhauls and frequent technical faults, which have frustrated islanders over the unreliability of the ferries.

In addition, two new ferries are still under construction, with the first due to enter service this year, five years behind schedule.

Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, said: “I welcome the news from Pentland Ferries that MV Alfred will join us this week.

“Our primary focus will be to have her available for resilience purposes and provide relief benefits across the network.

“This should help mitigate the impact of disruption or where certain islands are reduced to single vessel service.

“Although resilience availability will remain the priority, there may be opportunities for MV Alfred to operate additional, non-bookable freight sailings, when possible, to support capacity constraints.

“This is most likely to be focused on freight operations at key pinch points on the network.

“We will continue to engage with network community representatives and commercial customers to discuss deployment options to support services across the network.”